Arc Detection and Prevention in a Power Generation System

ABSTRACT

Methods for arc detection in a system including one or more photovoltaic generators, one or more photovoltaic power devices and a system power device and/or a load connectible to the photovoltaic generators and/or the photovoltaic power devices. The methods measure voltage, voltage noise and/or power delivered to the load or system power device. The methods may compare one or more measurements, an aggregation of measurements and/or values estimated from the measurements to one or more thresholds, and upon a comparison indicating a potential arcing condition, an alarm condition may be set. Embodiments include an arrangement of photovoltaic generators and photovoltaic power devices for reduced-impedance voltage loops which may enhance arc-detection capabilities.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 13/290,528, filed Nov. 7, 2011, which claimspriority to United Kingdom Application GB 1018872.0, filed Nov. 9, 2010,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

The present application is a continuation-in-part (CIP) application ofU.S. application Ser. No. 15/250,068, filed Aug. 29, 2016, which claimspriority to U.S. provisional patent Application Ser. No. 62/318,303,filed Apr. 5, 2016 and to U.S. provisional patent Application Ser. No.62/341,147, filed May 25, 2016, all of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety.

The present application claims priority to U.S. provisional patentApplication Ser. No. 62/395,461, filed Sep. 16, 2016, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The present invention is related to distributed power generation systemsand specifically to arc detection and prevention in photovoltaic powergeneration systems.

BACKGROUND

A distributed photovoltaic power generation system may be variouslyconfigured, for example, to incorporate one or more photovoltaic panelsmounted in a manner to receive sunlight such as on a roof of a building.An inverter may be connected to the photovoltaic panels. The invertertypically converts the direct current (DC) power from the photovoltaicpanels to alternating current (AC) power.

Arcing may occur in switches, circuit breakers, relay contacts, fusesand poor cable terminations. When a circuit is switched off or a badconnection occurs in a connector, an arc discharge may form across thecontacts of the connector. An arc discharge is an electrical breakdownof a gas, which produces an ongoing plasma discharge, resulting from acurrent flowing through a medium such as air, which is normallynon-conducting. At the beginning of a disconnection, the separationdistance between the two contacts is very small. As a result, thevoltage across the air gap between the contacts produces a very largeelectrical field in terms of volts per millimeter. This large electricalfield causes the ignition of an electrical arc between the two sides ofthe disconnection. If a circuit has enough current and voltage tosustain an arc, the arc can cause damage to equipment such as melting ofconductors, destruction of insulation, and fire. The zero crossing ofalternating current (AC) power systems may cause an arc not to reignite.A direct current system may be more prone to arcing than AC systemsbecause of the absence of zero crossing in DC power systems.

Electric arcing can have detrimental effects on electric powerdistribution systems and electronic equipment, and in particular,photovoltaic systems, which are often arranged in a manner thatincreases the risk of arching. For example, photovoltaic panels oftenoperate at extreme temperatures due to their necessary exposure to thesun. Such conditions cause accelerated deterioration in insulation andother equipment that can lead to exposed wires. Such systems are alsoexposed to environmental conditions, such as rain, snow, and highhumidity. Further, typical residential and/or industrial photovoltaicapplications often utilize several panels connected in series to producehigh voltage. Exposed conductors with high voltage in wet/humidconditions create an environment in which the probability of archingincreases.

This problem of arching raises system maintenance cost and reduces thelifespan of photovoltaic panels, because photovoltaic panels and otherrelated equipment will need to be repaired and/or replaced morefrequently. Arching in photovoltaic systems also increases the risk offire, thereby increasing operating and/or insurance cost on facilitieshaving photovoltaic systems. The net effect of arching in photovoltaicsystems is to increase the threshold at which a photovoltaic systembecomes cost competitive with nonrenewable sources of energy, such asnatural gas, oil, and coal.

BRIEF SUMMARY

As newly described herein, systems and methods are presented to addressthe problem of arching in photovoltaic systems, thereby reducing theoverall cost, and extending the useful lifespan of such systems. Theembodiments described herein, therefore, make deployment of photovoltaicsystems in residential and industrial application more competitive withnonrenewable energy alternatives.

Methods are provided for arc detection in a photovoltaic panel system,which may include a load connectible to the photovoltaic panel with oneor more mechanisms such as a power line, e.g. a DC power line. Anexemplary method may measure power delivered to the load and powerproduced by the photovoltaic panel. These measurements may be analyzedusing a suitable technique. One example of a suitable technique includesa comparison to generate, for example, a differential power measurementresult. The differential power measurement result may be furtheranalyzed using, for example, one or more static and/or dynamic thresholdvalues. The analysis may trigger, for example, an alarm condition whenthe differential power measurement results deviate from one or morethreshold values, either at an instant in time or over a time periodwhen the signal is integrated or smoothed. One or more of themeasurements (e.g., the second measurement), the static and/or dynamicthresholds, and/or the power measurements may be converted to a suitableformat and/or modulation scheme and transmitted to a remote location. Inone exemplary method, one or more of the foregoing items (e.g., thesecond measurement) may be modulated and transmitted (e.g., over the DCpower line) to a remote location.

According to further aspects, a device for arc detection in a system mayinclude a photovoltaic panel and a load connectible to the photovoltaicpanel using, for example, a power line (e.g. a DC power line). In thisaspect, the device may be variously configured to include one or moreelectronic modules adapted for measuring power produced by one or morephotovoltaic panels and/or a distributed and/or centralized controlleradapted for measuring power delivered to, for example, the load. Aspectsmay be variously configured to include one or more mechanisms to analyzepower associated with the photovoltaic panel and/or power delivered tothe load, dynamically and/or statically, in an instantaneous and/orintegrated manner. The analysis may be variously configured to include,for example, dynamic and/or static comparisons of an instantaneousand/or integrated signal. Suitable comparisons may or may not includeone or more thresholds. The analysis may collect historical data anddetermine variations from this historical data. Additionally, theanalysis may include predetermined threshold values based on prior testdata. Based on the dynamic and/or static comparison, one or more of themechanisms may be operable to detect arcing when the power output of oneor more photovoltaic panels is greater than the power delivered to theload.

According to further aspects, a method for arc detection may beperformed in a system having, for example, a photovoltaic string and aload connectible to the photovoltaic string using, for example, a DCpower line. The method for arc detection measurement may be variouslyconfigured, for example, to quantify a value associated with a noisevoltage of the load and/or a noise voltage of one or more of thephotovoltaic panels in the photovoltaic string. The quantitiesassociated with the various measured noise voltages may be analyzedusing a suitable technique. In one technique, a dynamic and/or staticcomparison is made between the various noise voltages e.g., (the noisevoltage of the load compared with the noise voltage of one or more (e.g.all) of the photovoltaic panels in the photovoltaic string) producing aquantitative value such as a differential noise voltage value(s). Thedifferential noise voltage value(s) may then be analyzed eitherstatically and/or dynamically. In one embodiment, the differential noisevoltage values(s) may be compared against one or more threshold values,statically and/or dynamically, instantaneously and/or integrated overtime and then compared. Where a threshold is utilized, an alarmcondition may be triggered where one or more of the aforementionedvalues exceed a threshold. For example, upon the differential noisevoltage result being more than a threshold value then an alarm conditionmay be set; upon the alarm condition being set, the photovoltaic stringmay be disconnected. The various parameters discussed above may beanalyzed locally and/or transmitted to a remote location. In oneembodiment, one or more of the values may be modulated and transmittedover a DC power line. Upon the power of one or more or all of thephotovoltaic panels or the power of photovoltaic string(s) being greaterthan the power as delivered to the load, then an alarm condition is setaccording to a previously defined static and/or dynamic criterion.

According to further aspects, one of the methods for arc detection mayinclude software and/or circuits for measuring power delivered to theload and/or power produced by the photovoltaic string.

The measurement of the power of the photovoltaic string may be variouslyconfigured. In one example, the measurement involves sendinginstructions to measure the power output of each photovoltaic panel. Thepower value of each photovoltaic panel may then be transmitted andreceived. The power value of each photovoltaic panel may be added,thereby giving the second measurement result. The second measurementresult may then be subsequently modulated and transmitted over the DCpower line.

The load impedance may be changed according to a predetermined value.The power of the photovoltaic string, in this example, may then bemeasured again, thereby producing a third measurement result of thepower of the photovoltaic string. Followed by the power of the loadbeing measured, thereby producing a measurement result of the power ofthe load. The various measurements may be compared, thereby producinganother differential power result. The various differential powerresults may thereby produce a total differential power result. In thisexample, upon the total differential power result being more than athreshold value, an alarm condition may be set. Upon the alarm conditionbeing set, the photovoltaic string may be disconnected in the example.The third measurement result may be modulated and transmitted over theDC power line.

In this example, the measuring of the power of the photovoltaic stringmay involve sending one or more instruction to measure the power of eachphotovoltaic panel. The power value of each photovoltaic panel may thenbe transmitted and received. The power value of each photovoltaic panelmay be added, thereby giving the third measurement result. The thirdmeasurement result may then be subsequently modulated and transmittedover the DC power line.

In a further example, the sending of instructions to measure power inthe string may be to a master module connected to one of the panels ofthe string. Embodiments may also include slave modules respectivelyconnected to other panels of the string, which may be instructed tomeasure power. Power measurement results may then be transmitted fromthe slave modules to the master module. The power measurement resultsmay then be received by the master module, added up by the master moduleto produce a string power result, which may be transmitted to a centraland/or distributed controller in this example.

In some embodiments disclosed herein, a plurality of photovoltaic powerdevices may be configured to measure voltages in a synchronized manner,which may provide increased accuracy of a summed voltage measurement. Insome embodiments, both the voltage measurements and the transmission ofassociated voltage measurements may be synchronized (e.g.,time-synchronized, etc.). The voltage measurements may be taken at inputand/or at output terminals of photovoltaic generators (e.g.,photovoltaic panels, cells, substrings, etc.), in serial or in parallelphotovoltaic strings. According to some aspects, the voltagemeasurements may be retransmitted in response to a transmission errorand/or as a redundancy feature, which may prevent transmission errors ormay address other issues.

In some embodiments, photovoltaic power devices may feature multipleoutput voltage terminals. In some embodiments photovoltaic generatorsand photovoltaic power devices may be coupled together and/or may bearranged to provide a plurality of lower-impedance voltage loops.Designing photovoltaic string to have lower-impedance voltage loops may,in some embodiments, provide certain advantages. These advantages mayinclude increasing a voltage sensor's ability to detect high-frequencyvoltage components, which may indicate an arcing condition. According tosome aspects, a lower-impedance voltage loop may also provide a way ofdetermining a location of an arcing condition.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1a illustrates an example of circuit showing serial arcing.

FIG. 1b illustrates the circuit of FIG. 1a showing an example ofparallel or shunt arcing.

FIG. 2 shows a power generation system including an arc detectionfeature according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 shows a method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5a shows a power generation circuit according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 5b shows a method according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5c shows a method step shown in FIG. 5b , in greater detail, thestep measures power of a string according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5d shows a method for serial arc detection, according to anotherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6a shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 6b shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 6c shows an illustrative diagram showing an example data packet inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 6d shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 6e shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 6f shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 7a shows an illustrative diagram showing a power generation systemincluding an arc detection feature in accordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 7b shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 8a shows an illustrative diagram showing a photovoltaic powerdevice in accordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 8b shows an illustrative diagram showing a power generation systemincluding an arc detection feature in accordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 8c shows an illustrative diagram showing a power generation systemincluding an arc detection feature in accordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 8d shows an illustrative diagram showing an example flow process inaccordance with disclosed aspects.

FIG. 9 illustrates a photovoltaic system configuration in accordancewith disclosed aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like referencenumerals refer to the like elements throughout. The embodiments aredescribed below to explain the present invention by referring to thefigures.

Reference is made to FIG. 1a which shows serial arcing 106 in a circuit10 a according to background art. In FIG. 1a , a direct current (DC)power supply 102 provides power between power lines 104 a and 104 b.Power line 104 b is shown at ground potential. Load 100 connects powerline 104 b to power line 104 a. Serial arcing may occur in any part ofcircuit 10 a in power lines 104 a, 104 b or internally in load 100 orsupply 102 for example. A disconnection or poor connection in power line104 a between point C and point A is shown which causes an instance 106of serial arcing. Typically, if series arc 106 can be detected, circuitbreakers (not shown) located at supply 102 or load 100 can be tripped toprevent continuous serial arcing 106.

Reference is made to FIG. 1b , which shows parallel or shunt arcing 108in a circuit 10 b according to background art. In circuit 10 b, a directcurrent (DC) power supply 102 provides power between power lines 104 aand 104 b. Load 100 connects power lines 104 a and 104 b. Parallelarcing may occur in many parts of circuit 10 b, examples may includearcing between the positive of supply 102 and the ground/chassis ofsupply 102, if power supply cable 104 a/b is a two core cable; arcingmay occur between the two cores, or between the positive terminal 104 aand ground 104 b of load 100. Parallel arcing 108 may occur as shownbetween power line 104 b at point D and high potential on power line 104a at point C.

Arc noise is approximate to white noise, meaning that the power spectraldensity is nearly equal throughout the frequency spectrum. Additionally,the amplitude of the arc noise signal has very nearly a Gaussianprobability density function. The root mean square (RMS) arc noisevoltage signal (V_(n)) is given in equation Eq. 1, as follows:

V _(N)=√{square root over (4KTBR)}  Eq. 1,

-   -   where:    -   K=Boltzmann's constant=1.38×10⁻²³ Joules per Kelvin;    -   T=the temperature in degrees Kelvin;    -   B=bandwidth in Hertz (Hz) over which the noise voltage (V_(N))        is measured; and    -   R=resistance (ohms) of a resistor/circuit/load.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which shows a power generation system201 including an arc detection feature according to an embodiment. Aphotovoltaic panel 200 is preferable connected to an input of a module202. Multiple panels 200 and multiple modules 202 may be connectedtogether to form a serial string. The serial string may be formed byconnecting the outputs of modules 202 in series. Multiple serial stringsmay be connected in parallel across a load 250. Load 250 may be, forexample, a direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) inverter orDC-to-DC converter. An electronic module 202 may be included to measuresthe voltage and/or current produced by a panel 200. Module 202 may becapable of indicating the power output of a panel 200. Attached to load250 may be a controller 204. Controller 204 may be operatively attachedto modules 202 via power line communications over DC power linesconnecting load 250 to the serial strings and/or by a wirelessconnection. Controller 204 may be configured to measure via sensor 206,the power received by load 250. Each panel 200 has a chassis, which maybe connected to ground. An instance of serial arcing 106 may occurbetween two panels 200. An instance of parallel arcing 108 may be shownbetween the positive terminal of a panel 200 and ground of the panel200.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which shows a method 301 according toone embodiment. Method 301 may be configured to detect serial and/orparallel arcing. Central controller 204 may be configured to measure oneor more parameters such as the power received by load 250 (step 300).Module 202 may be variously configured such as to measure the power ofone or more panels 200 (step 302). Module 202 may be variouslyconfigured. In one embodiment, it transmits a datum representing thepower measured of the one or more panels 200 via wireless or power linecommunications to controller 204. Controller 204 calculates thedifference between power generated at panel(s) 200 and the powerreceived at load 250 (step 304). In this example, if the differencecalculated in step 304 shows that the power generated at panel(s) 200may be greater than the power received at load 250 (step 306) accordingto a predefined criteria, an alarm condition of potential arcing may beset (step 308). Otherwise, in this example, the arc detection continueswith step 300.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which shows an illustrative method 401.Method 401 is a method, which may be utilized for detecting serialand/or parallel arcing. In a method according to this example, centralcontroller 204 measures (step 400) the root mean square (RMS) noisevoltage of load 250. Module 202 may then measure (step 402) the rootmean square (RMS) noise voltage of one or more panels 200. Module 202may be configured to transmit a datum representing the RMS noise voltagemeasured of panel(s) 200 via wireless or power line communications tocontroller 204.

One or more controllers may be configured to compare the noise voltageat panel(s) 200 with the noise voltage at the load 250 by, for example,calculating the difference between noise voltage measured at panel 200and the noise voltage measured at load 250 (step 404). In this example,if the difference calculated in step 404 shows that noise voltagemeasured at panel(s) 200 may be greater than the noise voltage measuredat load 250 (step 406) according to one or more predefined criteria, analarm condition of potential arcing may be set (step 408).

Further to this example, the comparison (step 404) also may involvecomparisons of previously stored RMS noise voltage levels of panel§200and/or load 250 in a memory of controller 204 at various times, forexample, the time immediately after installation of power generationsystem 201. The previously stored RMS noise voltage levels of bothpanel§200 and load 250 are, in this example, in the form of alook-up-table stored in the memory of controller 204. The look-up-tablehas RMS noise voltage levels of both panel(s) 200 and load 250 atvarious times of the day, day of the week or time of year for example,which can be compared to presently measured RMS noise voltage levels ofboth panel(s) 200 and load 250.

In this exemplary example, if the comparison of the measured load 250RMS noise voltage datum with the measured panel(s) 200 RMS noise voltagedatum may be over a certain threshold (step 406) of RMS noise voltagedifference an alarm condition of potential arcing may be set (step 408)otherwise arc detection continues with step 400.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5a which shows a power generation circuit501 a according to an embodiment of the present invention. Powergeneration circuits 501 a have outputs of panels 200 connected to theinput of modules 202. The outputs of panels 200 may be configured toprovide a DC power input (P_(IN)) to modules 202. Modules 202 mayinclude direct current (DC-to-DC) switching power converters such as abuck circuit, a boost circuit, a buck-boost circuit, configurablebuck-or-boost circuits, a cascaded buck and boost circuit withconfigurable bypasses to disable the buck or boost stages, or any otherDC-DC converter circuit. The output voltage of modules 202 may belabeled as V_(i).

The outputs of modules 202 and module 202 a may be connected in seriesto form a serial string 520. Two strings 520 may be shown connected inparallel. In one string 520, a situation is shown of an arc voltage(V_(A)) which may be occurring serially in string 520. Load 250 may be aDC to AC inverter. Attached to load 250 may be a central controller 204.Controller 204 optionally measures the voltage (V_(T)) across load 250as well as the current of load 250 via current sensor 206. Currentsensor 206 may be attached to controller 204 and coupled to the powerline connection of load 250.

Depending on the solar radiation on panels 200, in a first case, somemodules 202 may operate to convert power on the inputs to give fixedoutput voltages (V_(i)) and the output power of a module 202 that may bedependent on the current flowing in string 520. The current flowing instring 520 may be related to the level of irradiation of panels 200,e.g., the more irradiation, the more current in string 520, and theoutput power of a module 202 is more.

In a second case, modules 202 may be operating to convert powers on theinput to be the same powers on the output; so for example if 200 wattsis on the input of a module 202, module 202 may endeavor to have 200watts on the output. However, because modules 202 may be connectedserially in a string 520, the current flowing in string 520 may be thesame by virtue of Kirchhoffs law. The current flowing in string 520being the same means that the output voltage (V_(i)) of a module shouldvary in order to establish that the power on the output of a module 202may be the same as the power on the input of a module 202. Therefore, inthis example, as string 520 current increases, the output voltage(V_(i)) of modules 202 decreases or as string 520 current decreases, theoutput voltage (V_(i)) of modules 202 increases to a maximum value. Whenthe output voltage (V_(i)) of modules 202 increases to the maximumvalue, the second case may be similar to the first case in that theoutput voltage (V_(i)) may be now effectively fixed.

Modules 202 in string 520 may have a master/slave relationship with oneof modules 202 a configured as master and other modules 202 configuredas slaves.

Since current may be the same throughout string 520 in this example,master module may be configured to measure current of string 520.Modules 202 optionally measure their output voltage V_(i) so that thetotal string power may be determined. Output voltages of slave modules202, in this example, may be measured and communicated by wireless orover power line communications, for instance to master unit 202 a sothat a single telemetry from module 202 a to controller 204 may besufficient to communicate the output power of the string. Master module202 a in string 520 may be variously configured, such as to communicatewith the other slave modules 202 for control of slave modules 202.Master module 202 a, in this example, may be configured to receive a‘keep alive’ signal from controller 204, which may be conveyed to slavemodules 202. The optional ‘keep alive’ signal sent from controller 204communicated by wireless or over power line communications, may bepresent or absent. The presence of the ‘keep alive’ signal may cause thecontinued operation of modules 202 and/or via master module 202 a. Theabsence of the ‘keep alive’ signal may cause the ceasing of operation ofmodules 202 and/or via master module 202 a (i.e., current ceases to flowin string 520). Multiple ‘keep alive’ signals each having differentfrequencies corresponding to each string 520 may be used so that aspecific string 520 may be stopped from producing power where there maybe a case of arcing whilst other strings 520 continue to produce power.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 5b which shows a method 503 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. In step 500, one or morestrings 520 power may be measured. In step 502, the load 250 power maybe measured using central controller 204 and sensor 206. The measuredload power and the measured string powers may be compared in step 504.Steps 500, 502 and 504 may be represented mathematically by Equation Eq.2 (assuming one string 520) with reference, in this example, to FIG. 5a, as follows:

V _(T) I _(L) =ΣP _(IN) −V _(A) [I _(L) ]I _(L) +ΣV _(i) I _(L)  Eq. 2,

-   -   where:    -   V_(A)[I_(L)]=the arc voltage as a function of current I_(L);    -   V_(T)I_(L)=the power of load 250;    -   ΣP_(IN)=the power output of modules 202 when modules 202 may be        operating such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of a module        varies in order to establish that the power on the output of a        module 202 may be the same as the power on the input of a module        202 (P_(IN)); and    -   ΣV_(i)I_(L)=the power output of modules 202 with fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) and/or power output of modules 202 (with        variable output voltage V_(i)) when string 520 current decreases        sufficiently such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of modules 202        increases to a maximum output voltage level value. In all cases,        the maximum output voltage level value (V_(i)) and fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) may be pre-configured to be the same in power        generation circuit 501 a.

The comparison between string power of string 520 and of the power(V_(T)×I_(L)) delivered to load 250 may be achieved by subtracting thesum of the string 520 power (ΣP_(IN)+ΣV_(i)I_(L)) from the powerdelivered to load 250 (V_(T)×I_(L)) to produce a difference. If thedifference may be less than a pre-defined threshold (step 506), themeasurement of power available to string 520 (step 500) and load 250(step 502) continues. In decision block 506, if the difference may begreater than the previously defined threshold, then an alarm conditionmay be set and a series arc condition may be occurring. A situation ofseries arcing typically causes the transmission of a ‘keep alive’ signalto modules 202 from controller 204 to discontinue, which causes modules202 to shut down. Modules 202 shutting down may be a preferred way tostop series arcing in string 520.

Reference is now made to FIG. 5c which shows method step 500 (shown inFIG. 5b ) in greater detail to measure power of string 502 according toan embodiment of the present invention. Central controller 204 may sendinstructions (step 550) via power line communications to master module202 a. Master module 202 a may measure the string 502 current as well asvoltage on the output of master module 202 a and/or voltage and currenton the input of master module 202 a to give output power and input powerof module 202 a respectively. Master module may instruct (step 552)slave modules 202 in string 502 to measure the output voltage and string502 current and/or the input voltage and current of modules 202 to giveoutput power and input power of modules 202 respectively. Slave modules202 may then be configured to transmit (step 554) to master module 202 athe input and output powers measured in step 552. Master module 202 areceives (step 556) the transmitted power measurements made in step 554.Master module 202 a then adds up the received power measurements alongwith the power measurement made by master module 202 a (step 558)according to equation Eq.2. According to equation Eq.2; ΣP_(IN)=thepower output of modules 202 when modules 202 may be operating such thatthe output voltage (V_(i)) of a module varies in order to establish thatthe power on the output of a module 202 may be the same as the power onthe input of a module 202 (P_(IN)); ΣV_(i)I_(L)=the power output ofmodules 202 with fixed voltage outputs (V_(i)) and/or power output ofmodules 202 (with variable output voltage V_(i)) when a string 520current decreases sufficiently such that the output voltage (V_(i)) ofmodules 202 increases to a maximum output voltage level value. In allcases, the maximum output voltage level value (V_(i)) and fixed voltageoutputs (V_(i)) may be pre-configured to be the same in power generationcircuit 501 a. The added up power measurements in step 558 may be thentransmitted by master module 202 a to central controller 204 (step 560).

Reference is now made to FIG. 5d , which shows a method 505 for serialarc detection, according to another embodiment of the present invention.First differential power result 508 occurs in circuit 501 a, with loadcurrent I_(L) now labeled as current I_(I) and with voltage V_(T) acrossload 250 (as shown in FIG. 5a ). First differential power result 508 maybe produced with reference to FIG. 5a and equation Eq.3 (below) as aresult of performing method 503 (shown in FIG. 5c ). Eq. 3 is asfollows:

V _(T) I ₁ =ΣP _(IN) −V _(A) [I ₁ ]I ₁ +ΣV _(i) I ₁  Eq. 3,

-   -   where:    -   V_(A)[I₁]=the arc voltage as a function of current I₁;    -   V_(T)I₁=the power of load 250;    -   ΣP_(IN)=the power output of modules 202 when modules 202 may be        operating such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of a module        varies in order to establish that the power on the output of a        module 202 may be the same as the power on the input of a module        202 (P_(IN)); and    -   ΣV_(i)I_(L)=the power output of modules 202 with fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) and/or power output of modules 202 (with        variable output voltage V_(i)) when string 520 current decreases        sufficiently such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of modules 202        increases to a maximum output voltage level value. In all cases,        the maximum output voltage level value (V_(i)) and fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) may be pre-configured to be the same in power        generation circuit 501 a.

The impedance of load 250 may be adjusted (step 510) optionally undercontrol of central controller 204. Typically, if load 250 is aninverter, controller 204 adjusts the input impedance of load 250 byvariation of a control parameter of the inverter. A change in the inputimpedance of load 250 causes the voltage across the input of load 250 tochange by virtue of Ohm's law. The voltage (V_(T)) as shown in circuit501 a across load 250 may be therefore made to vary an amount ΔV as aresult of the input impedance of load 250 being adjusted. The voltageacross load 250 may be now V_(T)+ΔV and the load 250 current (I_(L)) maybe now I₂.

A second differential power result 522 may be now produced as a resultof performing again method 503 (shown in FIG. 5c ) on the adjusted inputimpedance of load 250 performed in step 510. Second differential powerresult 522 may be represented mathematically by equation Eq. 4, asfollows:

(V _(T) +ΔV)I ₂ =ΣP _(IN) −V _(A) [I ₂ ]I ₂ +ΣV _(i) I ₂  Eq. 4,

-   -   where:    -   V_(A)[I₂]=the arc voltage as a function of current I₂;    -   (V_(T)+ΔV)I₂=the power delivered to load 250;    -   ΣP_(IN)=the power output of modules 202 when modules 202 may be        operating such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of a module        varies in order to establish that the power on the output of a        module 202 may be the same as the power on the input of a module        202 (P_(IN)); and    -   ΣV_(i)I_(L)=the power output of modules 202 with fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) and/or power output of modules 202 (with        variable output voltage V_(i)) when string 520 current decreases        sufficiently such that the output voltage (V_(i)) of modules 202        increases to a maximum output voltage level value. In all cases,        the maximum output voltage level value (V_(i)) and fixed voltage        outputs (V_(i)) may be pre-configured to be the same in power        generation circuit 501 a.

The first differential power result 508 may be compared with the seconddifferential power result 522 (step 524), for example, using controller204 to subtract the first differential power result 508 from the seconddifferential power result 522 to produce a difference. The differencemay be expressed by equation Eq. 5, which may be as a result ofsubtracting equation Eq.3 from equation Eq.4, as follows:

V _(T) I ₁−(V _(T) +ΔV)I ₂ =V _(A) [I ₂ ]I ₂ −V _(A) [I ₁ ]I ₁ +ΣV_(i)(I ₁ −I ₂)  Eq. 5

The summed output power (P_(IN)) of each module 202 for circuit 501 amay be thus eliminated.

Equation Eq. 5 may be re-arranged by controller 204 by performing amodulo operator function on equation Eq.5 to obtain an arc coefficient αas shown in equation Eq. 6.

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{{V_{T}I_{1}} - \left( {V_{T} + {\Delta \; V}} \right)}{\left( {I_{1} - I_{2}} \right)} = {\alpha + {\sum V_{i}}}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 6}\end{matrix}$

-   -   where the arc coefficient α is shown in Eq.7

$\begin{matrix}{\alpha = \frac{{{V_{A}\left\lbrack I_{2} \right\rbrack}I_{2}} - {{V_{A}\left\lbrack I_{1} \right\rbrack}I_{1}}}{\left( {I_{1} - I_{2}} \right)}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 7}\end{matrix}$

Controller 204, for example, may be configured to calculate coefficientα according to the above formula and measurements. A non-zero value ofarc coefficient α shown in equation Eq. 7 causes an alarm condition tobe set (step 528) otherwise another first differential power result 508may be produced (step 503). A situation of series arcing typicallycauses the ‘keep alive’ signal to be removed by controller 204, causingmodules 202 to shut down. Modules 202 shutting down may be a preferredway to stop series arcing in string 520.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6a , which shows a flow process (e.g. amethod) 601 showing a flow diagram of detecting an arc in accordancewith one or more features described herein. In one or more embodiments,the process 601 illustrated in FIG. 6a and/or one or more steps thereofmay be performed by one or more computing devices, such as a controllercomputing device, which may be similar to or the same as controller 204of FIG. 2. For example, the computing device (e.g., the controller,etc.) may be and/or include an analog circuit, microprocessor, DigitalSignal Processor (DSP), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)and/or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The controller may be incommunication with one or more modules similar to or the same as modules202 and may use one or more communication methods such as Power LineCommunications (PLC), wireless communications (e.g. cellularcommunication, WiFi™, ZigBee™, Bluetooth™ or alternative protocols)and/or acoustic communication. In some embodiments, one or more aspectsor steps of process 601 may be carried out by a master-modulecontroller, e.g. a controller which may be part of a master module(e.g., module 202 a).

For illustrative, non-limiting purposes, process 601 will be describedas carried out by controller 204 which may be in communication withmodules 202 (e.g. in communication with modules 202 comprisingcommunication and/or control devices) as shown in and described withrespect to FIG. 2. Process 601 may be similarly used with regard todifferent arrangements of power modules, controllers, and other devices.According to some embodiments, controller 204 may be included in and/orin communication with a device such as a power module (e.g. powermodules 202), combiner box, photovoltaic inverter, etc. According tosome devices, controller 204 may be connected and/or wirelessly coupledto power modules and/or other PV devices. According to some devices,controller 204 may be a remote server configured for remote control of aPV power system. Any of the disclosed steps of FIG. 6a (and/orassociated descriptions herein) may be omitted, be performed in otherthan the recited other, repeated, and/or combined.

Process 601 may begin at step 602, where a computing device (e.g., thecontroller 204) may instruct (e.g., via one or more communicationmethods disclosed herein) a plurality of string-connected modules (e.g.modules 202) to measure one or more electrical parameters. Theseelectrical parameters may be module-based parameters (e.g., a moduleoutput voltage V_(i)). In some embodiments, the instruction may indicatea time or a timestamp at which a module may begin measuring the outputvoltage and/or may indicate a time interval at which a module may beginmeasuring the output voltage after an event, such as after receiving theinstruction from the controller 204.

In some embodiments, the taking of measurements of an electricalparameter may be synchronized, which may be used to facilitate summingof the measured parameters. For example, the controller 204 may sendinstructions to synchronize voltage measurements, which may be used todetermine a total string voltage by summing one or more of theindividual time-synched voltage measurements.

In another example, an instruction sent at step 602 may comprise aninstruction for a module (e.g., in a serial string of modules) to sampleoutput voltage V_(i) at the instant or right after the instruction isreceived by a module. According to some aspects, instructions sent atstep 602 may travel at speed comparable to the speed of light, i.e.,3˜10⁸ m/sec, or at some other speed. As an illustrative numericalexample, if communications between the controller 204 and the modules202 take place at about only one-third of the speed of light (e.g. about10⁸ m/sec), and a maximum communication-path distance between any twomodules 202 of the plurality of string-connected modules 202 is 100 m,the respective points in time at which each respective pair of modules202 receives the instruction might differ by no more than about100/10⁸=1 μs. If each of the plurality of string-coupled modules 202immediately measures a voltage upon receiving the instructions, then theplurality of measurements may be considered to be substantiallysimultaneous (i.e., corresponding to points in time which are closeenough for the sum of the measurements to be accurately representativeof the total string voltage at a single point in time).

In some embodiments, an instruction sent at step 602 may includeinformation for synchronizing the transmission of measurements, such asvoltage measurements taken by the modules 202. For example, theinstruction may instruct one or more of the modules 202 of FIG. 5a tomeasure an output voltage 10 seconds after receiving the instruction,may instruct a first module (e.g. 202 a) to transmit a measured outputvoltage 1 second (or a corresponding number of clock cycles according toa clock that may be comprised in the module) after measuring the outputvoltage, may instruct a second module 202 to transmit a measured outputvoltage two seconds after measuring the output voltage, and so on. Inthis manner, each of the plurality of modules 202 may measure the moduleoutput voltage at substantially the same time, but may transmit themeasurement at a different time relative to another module 202, whichmay decrease the likelihood of simultaneous transmissions and thelikelihood of possible loss of data (e.g. dropped data packets).

In some embodiments, an instruction sent at step 602 might not instructthe modules 202 to synchronize measurement transmissions, but mayinstruct one or more modules 202 to wait a random period of time beforetransmitting a measurement. If a wide window of time is allowed for thetransmissions, the probability of overlapping transmissions may be low.As an illustrative, numerical example, each module 202 may be capable oftransmitting a measurement within 100 msec. If forty modules 202transmit measurements during a 5-minute window, and each module 202broadcasts a measurement at a random time during the 5-minute window,then with probability of

${{\prod\limits_{i = 0}^{39}\left( {1 - {i \cdot \frac{100\mspace{14mu} {ms}}{{5 \cdot 60}\mspace{14mu} s}}} \right)} = 0.77},$

no two measurement transmissions may overlap and each transmission maybe received. According to some aspects, the probability of no twotransmissions overlapping may be estimated, determined or calculated byEq. 8, which follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{p_{no\_ overlap} = {\prod\limits_{i = 0}^{N - 1}\left( {1 - {i \cdot \frac{transmission\_ time}{window\_ size}}} \right)}},} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 8}\end{matrix}$

where N indicates the number of transmitting modules 202, and thetransmission time and window size may be selected to obtain a desiredprobability of non-overlapping transmissions, withN*transmission_time<=window_size. According to some aspects, a preferredconfiguration may include transmission_time<<window_size.

It is to be understood that the elements of measurement synchronizationdisclosed with regard to process 601 may be similarly applied to othermethods disclosed herein. For example, one or more steps of method 500depicted in FIG. 5c may use the measurement and/or transmissionsynchronization as described with regard to FIG. 6 a.

In some embodiments, step 602 might not be implemented, and each module202 in a string of modules 202 may independently measure an outputvoltage measurement without receiving an instruction from the controller204. For example, each module 202 may measure an output voltage everyseveral minutes (e.g. every minute, every five minutes, or every fifteenminutes, etc.).

In some embodiments, each module 202 may measure a direct current (DC)output voltage and/or an alternating current (AC) output voltage. Forexample, each module 202 may comprise a DC-to-DC converter outputting aDC output voltage (or other parameter such as current), and each module202 may measure the output DC voltage. According to some embodiments,each module 202 may comprise a DC-to-AC converter (e.g. an inverter, ora micro-inverter, etc.) outputting an AC output voltage, and each module202 may measure the output AC voltage (or other parameter such ascurrent).

At step 603, the controller 204 may receive measurements (e.g., outputvoltage measurements) from one or more of the plurality of modules 202.In some embodiments, each module 202 may transmit a tag (e.g., a uniquecode, an ID code, etc.) along with a measurement. According to someaspects, the controller 204 may compare each unique tag to a list oftags (e.g., a list held in a non-transitory computer readable memorythat may be coupled to and/or included in the controller) to determinewhether a voltage measurement has been received from a particularmodule. According to some aspects, the list of tags may be obtainedprior to step 602 (i.e., in a method step not explicitly denoted in FIG.6a _. For example, the step may include identifying one or more modulesof the plurality of modules and storing the unique tag associated witheach module.

Optionally, if one or more measurements might not have been properlyreceived by the controller 204, the controller 204 may instruct one ormore modules 202 to retransmit a measurement. For example, if ameasurement is not received from a first module 202 and from a secondmodule 202, in some embodiments, the controller 204 may instruct all orsome of the modules 202 to retransmit measurements, and/or in someembodiments the controller 204 may request retransmission only from thefirst module 202 and/or the second module 202.

In another embodiment, one or more modules 202 may initially (e.g. inresponse to step 602) transmit a module output voltage measurementtwice, which may provide redundancy and protection against a loss ofmeasurements (e.g., due to overlapping transmission times). For example,in relation to Equation 8 above, if each measurement is transmittedtwice, in the event of lost measurements, a probability of bothmeasurements transmitted by a single module 202 to be lost may be verysmall, increasing the probability of the controller 204 receiving atleast one measurement from each module 202.

At step 604, the controller 204 may determine whether one or more of thetimestamps associated with the measurements received at step 602indicate about the same time. For example, the controller 204 mayevaluate a timestamp associated with one or more of the received voltagemeasurements to determine whether the measurements received at step 603indicate about the same time a respective measurement may have beentaken. For example, if two timestamps indicate a small or negligibledifference in time (e.g., several milliseconds), the controller 204 maydetermine that the measurements may have been taken at about the sametime. In another example, if two timestamps indicate a large ornon-negligible difference in time (e.g., several seconds, tens ofseconds or minutes, or larger), the controller 204 may determine themeasurements to have been taken at different times (i.e., not at aboutthe same time). If all of the measurements or all the measurements ofinterest are determined to have been taken at or about the same time,the controller 204 may proceed to step 605, which will be discussedbelow in more detail. If all of the measurements or all of themeasurements of interest are determined to not have been taken at orabout the same time, the controller 204 may proceed to step 610 and/orreturn to step 602.

In some embodiments, before returning to step 602, the controller 204may execute step 610. At step 610, one or more alternative arc-detectionsteps and/or methods may be utilized. For example, at step 610, one ormore voltage measurements, which may have been received from a pluralityof modules 202 and may have been determined to have been measured atdifferent times, may be used by the controller 204 to determine orestimate a corresponding voltage for each module at a particular time(e.g., according to process 650 of FIG. 6e described below in moredetail). According to some aspects, the controller 204 may proceed tostep 605 and may use the voltage values determined in step 610.According to some aspects, at step 610, the controller 204 may comparethe received voltage measurements to previously measured voltagemeasurements, and may determine that an arcing condition may be presentbased on one or more module voltages showing a trend indicating anarcing condition (e.g. a rise or fall in a measured voltage over time).

At step 605, the controller 204 carrying out process 601 may calculate asum of one or more of the output voltage measurements received at step603, which may be denoted as ΣVi for voltage, but may be denoted asanother symbol for other parameters such as current, power, etc.According to some aspects, ΣVi may indicate a voltage (e.g., totalvoltage) across a string (e.g. 520) comprising a plurality ofserially-connected modules 202 or may indicate a voltage across aportion of the string.

At step 606, the controller 204 (or other device or entity) may compareΣVi to a reference parameter (e.g., voltage, current, power, etc.). Forexample, the reference may be a single reference voltage or a pluralityof reference voltages. In some embodiments, the reference may be a sumof voltages ΣVi obtained from a previous execution of method 601 (e.g.,a value saved at step 608, which will be discussed below in moredetail). In some embodiments, the reference may be a series of voltagesmeasured over time (e.g. ten values of ΣVi obtained by previousexecutions of method 601). In some embodiments, the reference may be avoltage measured at a different location in a power generation circuit(e.g. 501 a) and/or in a power generation system (e.g. 201). In oneexample, the reference may be a voltage measured at the input of load250 of FIG. 5 a.

At step 607, the controller 204 may determine whether the comparisoncarried out at step 606 indicates an arcing condition. For example, insome embodiments, the controller 204 may compare ΣVi to a referencevoltage measured at the input of load 250, which may be denoted asV_250, and may determine that an arcing condition may be present ifVdiff=ΣVi−V_250>Vthresh, where Vthresh may be selected to be a minimumdifference voltage that may indicate an arcing condition. In someembodiments, Vthresh may be about 1 volt. In some embodiments, Vthreshmay be smaller or larger than about 1 volt. Referring back to FIG. 2, incase of a series arc 106, a voltage drop across series arc 106 (whichmay be referred to as Varc) may begin at a low voltage (e.g., severaltens or hundreds of millivolts) and over the time, Varc may increase,such as to several volts (e.g., such as to 10 volts, 100 volts, or evenhigher). According to some aspects, Varc might not be measured by amodule 202, but Varc may be reflected by V_250, i.e., the voltagemeasured at the input of load 250. For example, Varc corresponding toseries arc 106 might not be included in a voltage measurement taken bymodules 202, but a voltage measurement taken at the input of load 250may include a component corresponding to Varc. By selecting a suitableVthresh, series arc 106 may be detected before a dangerous conditionarises.

In some embodiments, Vthresh may be selected according to historicaldata. For example, Vthresh may be selected according to differentialvoltages measured in power generation systems under one or more arcingconditions. In some embodiments, ΣVi may be compared to previouslymeasured voltages and/or differential voltages. For example, executingmethod 601 ten times, once every three minutes, may generate tendifferent ΣVI results and ten differential voltage results Vdiff. Ifthese ten Vdiff results (e.g. Vdiff1, Vdiff2, . . . , Vdiff10) indicatea trend (e.g., a rising differential voltage over a period of time) anda newly obtained Vdiff11 result continues the trend, the controller 204may determine that an arcing condition may be present.

If the controller 204 determines at step 607 that no arcing conditionmight be present, the controller 204 may return to step 602 and, after aperiod of time, restart method 601. In some embodiments, the controller204 may proceed from step 607 to step 608 and save the calculated valuesΣVi and Vdiff to memory for future use, and then proceed from step 608back to step 602. In some embodiments, the controller 204 may save, atstep 608, additional data such as individual measurements received frommodules (e.g. modules 202), for future reference and analysis. Accordingto an embodiment, measurements saved at step 608 may be used at steps653-654 of method 650, depicted in FIG. 6 e.

If the controller 204 determines at step 607 that an arcing conditionmight be present, the controller 204 may proceed to step 609, and set analarm condition. Setting an alarm condition may result in various safetyprotocols taking place.

For example, the controller 204 (or other device) carrying out method601 may be coupled to a wired and/or to a wirelessnetwork(s)/Internet/Intranet, and/or any number of end user device(s)such as a computer, a smart phone, a tablet, and/or other devices suchas servers which may be located at a location, such as a networkoperations center and/or power generation monitoring center. Thesedevices may be utilized to generate a warning to warn of a dangerouscondition and/or to take action to degrade or turn off certain portionsof power generation circuit 501 a. For example, these warnings can beaudio and/or visual. According to some aspects, these warnings may be abeep, a tone, a light, a siren, an LED, or a high lumen LED. Thesewarnings may be located or actuated at a premises, such as in a home, ina building, in a vehicle, in an aircraft, in a solar farm, on a roof, inpower generation circuit 501 a, etc. In one example, a warning may becentralized (such as in a server) and/or distributed to end user devices(e.g., computers, smart phones, and/or tablets). The warnings may beshown on displays coupled, attached, and/or embedded into variouscomponents of power generation circuit 501 a, such as disconnects,switches, PV cells/arrays, inverters, micro inverters, optimizers,residential current devices, meters, breakers, main, and/or junctionboxes, etc. The warnings may be variously coupled to a user's orinstaller's cell phone and/or other device (e.g., person device,computing device, etc.) to make a user aware of a circuit in a dangerouscondition and/or to warn a user when the user may be approaching or inproximity to a circuit in a dangerous condition. The warnings may becoupled to or otherwise associated with GPS coordinates and/or generatedin response to a device (e.g., smart phone, tablet, etc.) moving in alocation proximate to a hazard condition. The measurements sent bymodules 202 and/or the summed measurement ΣVi may be analyzed locallyand/or sent to another device for further analysis, storage, and review.

In some embodiments, step 609 may include shutting down power productionof a power generation system in response to an arcing condition.According to some aspects, if at step 607, the controller 204 determinesthat an arcing condition may be present, the controller 204 may repeatone or more steps of process 601, which may reduce the risk of a “falsealarm” and/or reduce the frequency of shutting down a power generationsystem due to one or more inaccurate or unreliable measurements or dueto measurement noise. According to some aspects, the control 24 mayrepeat one or more steps of process 601 more than once. According tosome aspects, the execution and/or repetition of the steps of process601 may occur in rapid succession (e.g., one second apart, severalseconds apart, etc.) or may be spaced further apart (e.g., severalminutes apart, several hours apart, etc.). In some embodiments, an alarmcondition may be set only if two or more executions of method 601indicate an arcing condition. According to some aspects, the process 601may end at any time and/or after any step.

In some embodiments, method 601 may be carried out by a controller 204coupled to multiple PV strings. The controller 204 may carry out method601 with regard to each PV string (e.g. if ten PV strings are coupled tothe controller 204, the controller 204 may execute method 601 ten timesevery 5 minutes, with each execution of method 601 applied to adifferent string). In some embodiments where the controller 204 iscoupled to multiple PV strings, step 609 may further comprise indicatingwhich string coupled to the controller 204 triggered the alarm condition(i.e. which string may be subject to an arcing condition).

Reference is now made to FIG. 6b , which shows a process according to anembodiment. Process 611 may be carried out by a controller or othercomputing device, e.g. a device configured to control a module (e.g. aphotovoltaic power device such as a DC-DC converter, a DC-ACmicroinverter, a disconnect switch, monitoring device and similardevices). For example, the computing device (e.g., the controller, etc.)may be and/or include an analog circuit, microprocessor, Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and/or aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The controller may control one ormore modules similar to or the same as modules 202 and may use one ormore communication methods such as Power Line Communications (PLC),wireless communications (e.g. cellular communication, WiFi™, ZigBee™,Bluetooth™ or alternative protocols) and/or acoustic communication

For illustrative, non-limiting purposes, process 601 will be describedas carried out by a controller 804 of FIG. 8a (which may be similar toor the same as controller 204 and will be discussed below in moredetail), which may be a feature of power module 802 which may be similarto or the same as modules 202 of FIG. 2. The controller 804 carrying outmethod 611 may be in communication with a second controller 204 carryingout method 601, e.g. using Power Line Communications (PLC), wirelesscommunications or acoustic communications. For example, method 611 maybe carried out by a controller included in a power module, and method601 may be carried out by a controller included in a PV inverter inelectrical communication with the power module. The controller 804 maymeasure control one or more sensors for measuring electrical parametersassociated with the module, such as input and/or output voltage,current, power, solar irradiance and/or temperature, for example,sensor/sensor interface(s) 805 of FIG. 8a which may be similar to or thesame as sensor 206 and will be discussed below in more detail). Ifsensor/sensor interface(s) 805 include a voltage sensor, the voltagesensor may be placed in parallel to detect a voltage at an input oroutput of, for example module 802 of FIG. 8 a.

At step 612, the controller 804 may receive an instruction (e.g.,originating from a second controller 204 carrying out step 602 of method601) to measure a parameter (e.g., input and/or output voltage, current,power, solar irradiance and/or temperature) of an associated module(e.g., a module 202 of FIG. 2).

At step 613, the controller (e.g. controller 804) may instruct anassociated sensor to measure an output voltage of a module (e.g., module202), and the voltage measurement may be saved to memory (e.g. memorydevice 809 of FIG. 8a , which will be discussed below in more detail).In some embodiments, the controller 804 may receive an instruction(e.g., at step 612 or at another time) that may indicate a certain timefor carrying out one or more aspects of step 613. For example, theinstruction received at step 612 may instruct the controller 804 tomeasure the output voltage at a time (e.g., at 1:00:00 pm), or mayinstruct the controller to measure the output voltage after apredetermined period of time (e.g., 3 seconds after receiving theinstruction).

At step 614, the controller 804 may determine a period of time beforethe controller 804 instructs communication device 806 transmits thevoltage measurement at step 615. In some embodiments, the instructionreceived at step 612 (or at another time) may indicate a time at whichstep 615 should be carried out, which may reduce the probability ofmultiple controllers transmitting simultaneously. For example, theinstruction received at step 612 may indicate that the output voltagemay be transmitted at 1:00:01 pm (i.e., one second after measuring). Insome embodiments, the controller 804 may select a period of time (e.g.,a random or pseudo random period of time, etc.) to wait beforetransmission. For example, the controller 804 may select a random periodof time between 1 second and fifteen minutes (e.g., according to auniform distribution) to wait before transmitting the voltagemeasurement.

At step 615, the voltage measurement is transmitted to an associatedcontroller (e.g., a controller 204 carrying out method 601). In someembodiments, the voltage measurement may be transmitted along withadditional information, for example, an identification (ID) tagassociated with the controller and/or a timestamp indicating thetime/timestamp (or other description) at which the voltage measurementwas obtained. In some embodiments, at step 615, the voltage measurementmay be transmitted more than once, which may increase the probabilitythat the measurement will be received at least once by a receivingsecond controller.

At step 616, the controller 804 may receive an instruction to retransmita voltage measurement, for example, the controller 804 may retransmit avoltage measurement if a communication may have been lost and/or notreceived by another component, such as due to a transmission error. Ifsuch an instruction is received, the controller 804 may loop back tostep 615 and retransmit. If no such instruction is received, thecontroller 804 may return to step 612 and wait to receive additionalinstructions to measure output voltage. According to some aspects, theprocess 611 may end at any time and/or after any step.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6c , which illustrates a data packet 630according to one or more disclosed aspects. Data packet 630 may compriseone or more elements, such as a sender ID tag 632, a timestamp 633 andone or more measurements 634. The sender ID 632 tag may indicate anidentification (e.g., a unique ID) of an associated controller or modulesending data packet 630. The measurements 634 may comprise one or moremeasurements obtained by sensors at a module (e.g. 202 or 802), forexample, voltage, current, power, temperature and/or irradiance measuredat or near a module (e.g., modules 202). The timestamp 633 may indicatethe time at which the measurements 634 were obtained and/or measured. Ifseveral measurements were taken at different times, several timestamps633 may be included for respective measurements. In some embodiments(e.g., in a case where the packet may be received by a device whichmight not be the intended final recipient), the packet may include atarget ID tag 635 corresponding to an intended or subsequent recipient.In some embodiments, the packet may include a header 631 comprisingmetadata regarding the packet contents and may include a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) portion 636, which may provide increased dataintegrity.

According to some aspects, data packet 630 may be sent at step 615 ofmethod 611 and/or may be received at step 603 of FIG. 6a . The timestamp633 of data packet 630 may be read and/or processed (e.g. by acontroller 204) at step 604 to verify that data packet 630 was receivedat about the same time as one or more other data packets. According tosome aspects, the data packet 630 may comprise measurements 634 that maybe used (e.g. by a controller 204) at step 605 to calculate a sum ofvoltages (or other parameters) measured by a plurality of modules (e.g.202).

Reference is now made to FIG. 6d , which illustrates a process for arcdetection according one or more disclosed aspects. According to someaspects, step 610 of process 601 may include one or more steps ofprocess 640. Process 640 may be used by a controller (e.g., controller204) to detect or determine an arcing condition using one or moreparameter measurements (e.g., voltage measurements), which might nothave been measured and/or obtained at about the same time. For example,one measurement may have been obtained at a first time and a secondmeasurement may have been obtained at a second time.

At step 641, a controller (e.g. 204) carrying out method 640 mayevaluate a group of timestamps 633 corresponding to a respectivemeasurement 634 of a group of parameter measurements 634 (e.g., voltagemeasurements, current measurements, etc.). For example, the controllermay read a plurality of timestamps 633 and determine that the timestamps633 might not be about the same (e.g. the timestamps 633 might indicatea plurality of points in time differing by seconds, tens of seconds,minutes or hours).

At step 642, the controller 204 may select a reference timestamp ts. Insome embodiments, the reference timestamp may be one of the group oftimestamps 633 (e.g., the earliest timestamp, the latest timestamp, anintermediate timestamp, or the median timestamp, etc.). In someembodiments, the reference timestamp ts might not correspond to one ofthe group of timestamps 633 (e.g., may be an average of two or moretimestamps in the group of time stamps or may be a random time withinthe range of timestamps).

At step 643, the controller 204 may determine a plurality of voltageestimates, calculations, or approximations corresponding to the measuredvoltages at the reference timestamp ts. For example, if at step 641 thecontroller 204 evaluates timestamps t1, t2, t3 and t4 corresponding tothe voltages V₁[t1],V₂[t3],V₃[t3] and V₄[t4] (e.g., voltages measured atfour different modules 202), at step 643, the controller 204 maydetermine the voltages {tilde over (V)}₁[ts], {tilde over (V)}₂[ts],{tilde over (V)}₃[ts] and {tilde over (V)}₄[ts] (i.e., the voltages atthe four modules 202 at the timestamp ts). According to some aspects,the controller may determine these voltage estimates by interpolation,regression analysis, etc. Aspects of step 643 are discussed below inmore detail with respect to FIG. 6 e.

At step 644, the controller (e.g. 204) carrying out method 640 maycalculate a sum of the output voltage measurements estimated ordetermined at step 643, which may be denoted ΣVi. ΣVi may indicate atotal voltage across a string (e.g., 520) or portion of a string 520comprising a plurality of serially-connected modules 202.

Steps 645, 646 and 647 may be similar to or the same as steps 606, 607and 609, respectively, of process 601, but may instead use a valuedetermined in step 644. Step 648 may be similar to or the same as step608 of method 601, but may instead use a value determined in step 644.According to some aspects, the process 640 may end at any time and/orafter any step.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6e , which illustrates a process forestimating parameters (e.g. voltages) at a particular timestamp,according to an embodiment. Method 650 may be used to estimate ordetermine voltage drops at a reference timestamp, for example, as step643 of method 640 depicted in FIG. 6d . At step 651, all voltages to beestimated (e.g., V₁[ts], V₂[ts], etc.) may be initialized by thecontroller 204 to an “unestimated” state or an “unapproximated” state.For example, the controller 204 may recognize one or more voltages thatmay be used by the controller 204 in the determination of an arccondition.

At step 652, the controller 204 may select an unestimated voltage V_(i)(e.g., V₁) for estimation.

Estimation may comprise, for example, a direct calculation,probabilistic calculation, lookup and/or reception (e.g. via wired orwireless communication) of an estimated or determined value.

At step 653, the controller 204 may load previously measured or obtained(e.g., measured at step 608 of method 601 in a past execution of method601) measurements of V_(i). For example, the controller may load kprevious measurements of V_(i), where k is a positive integer. Insystems where V_(i) may change slowly and/or in a substantiallypredictable manner, the parameter k may be small, for example, k may be1, 2 or 3. According to some aspects, an elapsed period of time betweenthe timestamp of the j-th previous voltage measurement and the referencetimestamp ts may be referred to, for notational convenience, as Δt_(j),with j being a positive integer less than or equal to k.

At step 654, the controller 204 may determine an approximated voltageV_(i)[ts], with the approximation denoted {tilde over (V)}_(i)[ts].According to some aspects, the controller 204 may use the previousvoltage measurements loaded at step 653 as input to an appropriateestimation algorithm.

In some embodiments, a voltage V_(i) may vary slowly over time, and anestimated voltage at the reference timestamp may be {tilde over(V)}_(i)[ts]=V_(i)[ts−Δt₁], i.e., k=1 and the voltage at the referencetimestamp may be determined to be the same as the last measurement. Inanother embodiment, an estimated voltage at the reference timestamp maybe calculated by fitting previous voltage measurements to a linearcurve, for example, using the formula:

${{\overset{\sim}{V}}_{i}\lbrack{ts}\rbrack} = {{V_{i}\left\lbrack {{ts} - {\Delta \; t_{1}}} \right\rbrack} + {\frac{{V_{i}\left\lbrack {{ts} - {\Delta \; t_{1}}} \right\rbrack} - {V_{i}\left\lbrack {{\Delta \; t_{1}} - {\Delta \; t_{2}}} \right\rbrack}}{{\Delta \; t_{1}} - {\Delta \; t_{2}}} \cdot \left( {{ts} - {\Delta \; t_{1}}} \right)}}$

i.e., where k=2. In embodiments where V_(i) may change more rapidly orin a more complicated manner, k may be greater than 2, and higher-orderpolynomials, sophisticated functions such as exponential and/orlogarithmic functions, or statistical models may be used to estimate{tilde over (V)}_(i)[ts]. A threshold (e.g., a threshold used at step ofmethod 601 607 or step 646 to determine whether a discrepancy between asum of voltages and a reference voltage indicates an arcing condition)may be selected according to a statistical error in estimating {tildeover (V)}_(i)[ts]. For example, if {tilde over (V)}_(i)[ts] can beestimated with high accuracy, a small threshold may be used (i.e., evena small discrepancy between a sum of voltages and a reference voltagemay trigger an alarm condition indicating arcing). According to someaspects, a greater threshold may be used. According to some aspects, thevoltage V_(i) may be marked as “determined,” “estimated,” or“approximated.”

At step 655, the controller 204 may determine whether one or more (orall) voltages V_(i) have been estimated. If all voltages (or thevoltages of interest) have been estimated, the controller 204 mayproceed to step 656 and provide the estimated voltages V_(i) for furtheranalysis (e.g. to be used by a controller and/or a computing device atstep 644 of process 640). If it is determined that one or more voltages(i.e., one or more voltages of interest) might not have been estimated,the process 650 may loop back to step 652. The process 650 may end atany time and/or after any step.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6f , which illustrates a process 660 fordetecting an arcing condition according to one or more disclosedaspects. A device (e.g., a controller 204 or some other device) may ormight not execute one or more steps of process 660 as part of adifferent process (e.g., as step 610 of process 601). According to someaspects, a controller (e.g. 204) executing process 660 may detect apotential arcing condition by detecting an uncontrolled trend inmeasured (e.g., currently measured, previously measured, etc.) parameter(e.g. voltage, current, power and/or temperature) measurements. Forillustrative purposes, voltage measurements are used to illustrate anaspect of process 660.

At step 661, the controller 204 may receive (e.g. load from a memorycomponent and/or receive by communication from another device) k (1, 2,3, etc.) measured voltage measurements (e.g., measured at an input or atan output of a module 202 or at load 250).

At step 662, the controller 204 may attempt to detect a trend in thevoltage measurements. For example, the controller 204 may determinewhether the voltage measurements show an increase or decrease over timeor stay substantially the same. According to some aspects, other trendsmay be detected using linear regression, non-linear regression, etc. Inone example a voltage drop across an arc (e.g., arc 106) mayconsistently grow over time (e.g., due to melting of conductors, whichmay increase an arcing air gap and thereby increase the arcing voltage),which may result in a measured voltage (e.g., at a module 202)increasing over time. Changes in arcing voltage, which may be observedover time, may vary according to one or more parameters, including butnot limited to a current flowing through the conductor at which the arcmay occur, conductor material, temperature and other operational andenvironmental parameters. The controller (e.g. 204) executing process660 may be calibrated according to one or more of these parameters,which may be known or determined (e.g., experimentally estimated)according to the location of the component, device, or system performingthe process 660.

According to an embodiment, a voltage drop across an arc may beestimated by Eq. 9, which follows:

V _(arc)=(V _(c) +d·V _(d))·(1+√{square root over (I ₀ /I)})  Eq. 9

where V_(arc) may be a full arc voltage, V_(c) may be a voltage at anarcing contact point, d may be an arc air gap size, V_(d) may be aparameter relating a voltage drop across the air gap to the size of theair gap d,I may be the current flowing through the arc, and I₀ may be aparameter (e.g., a parameter that may depend on the conductor material).According to some aspects, I may be measured by a module 202 and therebymay be known, and d may grow over time (e.g., due to conductor melting),which may provide a change in measured voltages, which may indicate anarcing condition.

As an illustrative, numerical example, a system may have

${V_{c} = {15\lbrack V\rbrack}},{V_{d} = {5\left\lbrack \frac{V}{mm} \right\rbrack}},{I_{0} = {1A}},{I = {15{A.}}}$

An arc air gap size may grow by 0.1 mm/sec, arc voltage may grow byabout 1V every 3 minutes, which may cause a voltage measured at anoutput of a module 202 to grow by 50 mV every 3 minutes (e.g., in a casewhere an output impedance of a module 202 comprises about 5% of thetotal loop impedance “seen” by an arc), or may cause a voltage measuredat an input of a module 202 to grow by about 500 mV every 3 minutes(e.g., in a case where the arc is at an input of a module 202, and aninput impedance of a module 202 is about 50% of the total loop impedance“seen” by the arc).

It is to be understood that the illustrative values provided in thenumerical example above are simply indicative of possible valuescorresponding to a feasible scenario in one embodiment. The values mayvary in alternative systems and embodiments, and the illustrative valuesused above are not limiting in any way.

At step 663, the controller 204 may determine whether the voltagemeasurements loaded at step 661 indicate a trend, and if themeasurements indicate a trend—whether the trend is controlled. Anexample of a controlled trend may be a startup condition, e.g., at thestart of a day where one or more modules 202 may actively increase anoutput voltage, to provide increasing power to load 250. Another exampleof a controlled trend may be a reduced voltage at an input to a module202 caused by a module 202 executing Maximum Power Point Tracking(MPPT). Because controlled trends may occur during normal systemoperation, if a controlled trend is detected (e.g., by correlating thetrend with commands issued by control devices or with operationalchanges in modules 202 and/or load 250), the controller 204 may proceedto step 664, which may be similar to or the same as step 608 of method601, and may save the measurements. If an uncontrolled trend is detectedat step 663, the trend may be indicative of an arcing condition (e.g.,an uncontrolled arcing condition), and the controller 204 may proceed tostep 665, which may be similar to or the same as step 609 of method 601,and may set an alarm condition. According to some aspects, the process660 may end at any time and/or after any step.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7a , which shows a photovoltaic (PV)generation system 701 according to an illustrative embodiment. PVgeneration system 701 may comprise a plurality of PV generators. In theillustrative embodiment shown in FIG. 7a , each PV generator maycomprise a PV panel 700, which may be similar to or the same as panel200. In some embodiments, the PV generators may comprise individual PVcells, substrings of PV cells, one or more PV panels and/or PV arrays.In some embodiments, the PV generators may be replaced or complementedby one or more batteries, capacitors, supercapacitors, fuel cells, windturbines or other power generation or storage sources.

Each PV generator (in the case of FIG. 7a , each panel 700) may becoupled to a power module 702 (e.g., 702 a, 702 b, 702 c and so on,referred to collectively as “modules 702”). According to some aspects, apower module 702 may be similar to or the same as module 202. Eachmodule 702 may comprise input terminals and output terminals, which maybe coupled to a panel 700. Each module 702 may be configured to receiveinput power at the input terminals from a panel 700, and may beconfigured to provide output power at the output terminals. The powerprovided by the plurality of modules 702 may be combined between a powerbus and a ground bus. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 7a , theoutput terminals of each module 702 are coupled in parallel between thepower bus and the ground bus. Each module may apply Maximum Power PointTracking (MPPT) to an associated panel 700, which may be used to extractincreased power (e.g., at or about a maximum power) from the panel.

A load 750 may be coupled between the power bus and the ground bus, andmay receive power generated by panels 700. In some embodiments, load 750may comprise a DC/AC inverter. In some embodiments, load 750 maycomprise a DC or an AC combiner box, one or more safety devices (e.g.one or more fuses, residual current devices, relays, disconnectswitches). In some embodiments, load 750 may include a monitoringdevice, for example, one or more sensors configured to measureparameters (e.g. voltage, current, power, temperature and/or irradiance)and a communication device (e.g. wires or wireless) for transmittingand/or receiving messages, commands and/or data. Controller 704 may becoupled to load 750. In some embodiments, controller 704 may be acontroller integrated in a DC/AC inverter, and may be implemented usingan analog circuit, microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP),Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and/or a FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA). The controller 704 may be incommunication with modules 702, using communication methods such asPower Line Communications (PLC), wireless communications (e.g., cellularcommunication, WiFi™, ZigBee™, Bluetooth™ or alternative protocols)and/or acoustic communications. According to some aspects, controller704 may be the same as or similar to controller 204.

FIG. 7a illustrates a scenario in which arc 706 may occur between anoutput terminal of module 702 c and the power bus. Denoting the voltagebetween the power bus and the ground bus as Vpg, modules 702 may measurean output voltage of about Vpg, since the output terminals each module702 may be coupled between the ground bus and the power bus. Module 702c may measure an output voltage different from Vpg, due to the voltagedrop across arc 706. In accordance with method disclosed herein, eachmodule 702 may regularly measure the output voltage across each module702's respective output terminals, and comparison of measured outputvoltages may indicate an arcing condition. In the illustrative exampleof FIG. 7a , each module 702 (excluding module 702 c) may measure anoutput voltage of about 300V, and due to the 10V voltage drop across arc706, module 702 c may measure a voltage drop of about 310V.

In some embodiments, one or more modules 702 may measure voltage noise,and the voltage noise measurements obtained by each module 702 may becompared (e.g. by controller 704). In some embodiments, a voltage noisemeasurement obtained by module 702 c may be indicative of arc 706. Forexample, if a voltage spectrum measured by module 702 c comprisessignificant high-frequency components at a magnitude not found in othervoltage measurements, one or more processes or steps disclosed hereinmay determine that the measurement may be indicative of an arcingcondition at or near module 702 c.

Reference is now made to FIG. 7b , which illustrates a method 711 fordetecting an arc according to one embodiment. In some embodiments,method 711 may be carried out by a controller similar to or the same ascontroller 704 of FIG. 7b . In some embodiments, method 711 may becarried out by a master controller featured by a module 702. Forillustrative purposes, method 711 will be described as carried out bycontroller 704. Steps 712-714 may be similar to or the same as steps602-604, respectively, of method 601. At step 715, the controller (e.g.704) carrying out method 711 may compare voltage measurements receivedat step 714 to one another. At step 715, the controller 704 maydetermine whether a measurement received from a module is different(e.g., a voltage measurement differing by more than 50 mV, 500 mV ormore than 1V from the other measurements, or a voltage noise measurementdiffering by tens of millivolts from other voltage noise measurements).According to some aspects the voltage difference may be compared to somethreshold value, which may be set by the controller or some otherdevice. According to some aspects this threshold may be a substantialdifference between voltage measurements. According to some aspects, thisthreshold may be a ratio of voltages. For example, if the voltagedifference is twice as large as the lower voltage measurement(corresponding to a threshold ratio of two), or ten times as large asthe lower voltage measurement (corresponding to a threshold ratio often), or if the voltage difference is equal to the lower voltagemeasurement (corresponding to a threshold ratio of one), the voltagedifference may be considered to be greater than the threshold. If atstep 716 a determination is made that an arcing condition is unlikely,the process may proceed to step 718 where the controller 704 may savethe measurements received at step 714 to memory. The controller 704carrying out process 711 may return to step 712, such as after a periodof time (e.g., five minutes) has elapsed, for a new execution of method711. In some embodiments, when past measurements might not have beenused for reference, the process may proceed directly from step 716 backto step 712.

If at step 716 it is determined that an arcing condition may be present(e.g., when a voltage measurement is substantially different from othervoltage measurements), the process may proceed to step 717, which may besimilar to step 609 of method 601, and may set an alarm condition. Insome embodiments, the controller may repeat method 711 and only proceedto step 717 if additional repetitions indicate an arcing condition(e.g., to reduce the risk of “false alarms”).

In some embodiments, measurements logged at step 718 may be used forreference during future executions of method 711. For example, a firstmodule 702 may consistently provide an output voltage measurement whichdiffers from the other modules' output voltage (e.g., due to a faultysensor or to a lossy element such as a damaged wire). Steps 715 and 716may be calibrated to account for a constant or predictable measurementdifference, and step 716 may be adapted to trigger step 717 if ameasurement difference continuously changes (e.g., increases) over time.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8a , which illustrates circuitry 811 suchas circuitry which may be found in a photovoltaic power device 802,according to one or more aspects. Photovoltaic power device 802 may beused as, similar to, or may be module 202 of FIG. 2 and FIG. 5a and/ormodule 702 of FIG. 7a . In some embodiments, circuitry 811 may includepower converter 801. Power converter 801 may comprise a directcurrent-direct current (DC/DC) converter such as a charge pump, buck,boost, buck/boost, buck+boost, Cuk, Flyback, and/or forward converter.In some embodiments, power converter 801 may comprise a directcurrent—alternating current (DC/AC) converter (also known as aninverter), such a micro-inverter. In some embodiments, circuitry 811 mayinclude Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) circuit 803, configured toextract increased power (e.g., at or about a maximum power) from a powersource (e.g., a solar panel, solar cell, etc.) the power device iscoupled to. In some embodiments, power converter 801 may include MPPTfunctionality. Circuitry 811 may further comprise controller 804 such asan analog circuit, microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP),Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) and/or a FieldProgrammable Gate Array (FPGA). Controller 804 may be similar to or thesame as controller 204 of FIG. 2, and may be similar to or the same as acontrol device used to control modules 202 of FIG. 2.

Still referring to FIG. 8a , controller 804 may control and/orcommunicate with other elements of circuitry 811 over common bus 810. Insome embodiments, circuitry 811 may include circuitry and/orsensors/sensor interfaces 805 configured to measure parameters directlyor receive measured parameters from connected sensors and/or sensorinterfaces 805 configured to measure parameters on, at, or near thepower source. These parameters may include the voltage and/or currentoutput by the power source and/or the power output by the power source,and the like. In some embodiments the power source may be a PV module,and a sensor or sensor interface 805 may measure or may receivemeasurements of the irradiance received by the module and/or thetemperature on, at, or near the module. In some embodiments, circuitryand/or sensors/sensor interfaces 805 may be configured to measureparameters directly or receive measured parameters from connectedsensors and/or sensor interfaces 805 configured to measure parameters onor near the output of PV power device 802. These parameters may includethe voltage and/or current output by PV power device 802 and/or thepower output by PV power device 802.

Still referring to FIG. 8a , in some embodiments, circuitry 811 mayinclude communication device 806, configured to transmit and/or receivedata and/or commands from other devices. Communication device 806 maycommunicate using Power Line Communication (PLC) technology, acousticcommunication technology or wireless technologies such as ZigBee™,Wi-Fi™, Bluetooth™, cellular communication or other wireless methods. Insome embodiments, circuitry 811 may include memory device 809, forlogging measurements taken by sensor(s)/sensor interfaces 805 to storecode, operational protocols or other operating information. Memorydevice 809 may be flash, Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-OnlyMemory (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), Solid State Devices (SSD)or other types of appropriate memory devices.

Still referring to FIG. 8a , in some embodiments, circuitry 811 mayinclude safety devices 807 (e.g., fuses, circuit breakers and ResidualCurrent Detectors). Safety devices 807 may be passive or active. Forexample, safety devices 807 may comprise one or more passive fusesdisposed within circuitry 811 and designed to melt when a certaincurrent flows through it, disconnecting part of circuitry 811 to avoiddamage. In some embodiments, safety devices 807 may comprise activedisconnect switches, configured to receive commands from a controller(e.g., controller 804, or an external controller) to disconnect portionsof circuitry 811, or configured to disconnect portions of circuitry 811in response to a measurement measured by a sensor (e.g., a measurementmeasured by sensors/sensor interfaces 805). In some embodiments,circuitry 811 may comprise auxiliary power unit 808, configured toreceive power from a power source coupled to circuitry 811, and outputpower suitable for operating other circuitry components (e.g.,controller 804, communication device 806, etc.). Communication,electrical coupling and/or data-sharing between the various componentsof circuitry 811 may be carried out over common bus 810.

According to some embodiments, controller 804 may be configured to carryout process 611 of FIG. 6b . According to some embodiments,sensor/sensor interfaces 805 may be configured to measure the outputvoltage of PV power device 802 at step 613 of process 611. According tosome embodiments, communication device 806 may be configured to carryout steps 612, 615 and/or 616 of process 611 by transmitting orreceiving messages from a coupled communication device, and relayingreceived instructions to controller 804. In some embodiments,communication device 806 may be configured to carry out step 554 ofprocessor 500 of FIG. 5c . In some embodiments, controller 804 may beconfigured to function as a “master controller” and to carry outprocessor 601 of FIG. 6a , processor 711 of FIG. 7b , and steps 552,556, 558 and (along with communication device 806) 560 of method 500 ofFIG. 5 c.

Circuitry 811 might comprise a portion of the components depicted inFIG. 8a . For example, in some embodiments, PV power device 802 may be amonitoring and/or safety device, which might not include powerconversion and/or MPPT functionality (i.e., circuitry 811 might notcomprise power converter 801 and/or MPPT circuit 803). In someembodiments, PV power device 802 may comprise power conversion and/orMPPT functionality, but might not comprise one or more communicationfeatures (i.e., circuitry 811 might not comprise communication device806. For example, controller 804 may be configured to disconnectcircuitry 811 from a PV string in response to detecting an arcingcondition, e.g., without receiving a communication from other powerdevices).

In some embodiments, PV power device 802 and/or one or more componentsof circuitry 811 may be integrated into a photovoltaic generator. Forexample, circuitry 811 may be integrated into a photovoltaic generatorjunction box. As another example, elements of circuitry 811 (e.g., powerconverter 801, controller 804 and/or safety devices 807) may be embeddedinto PV panels or other power devices.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8b , which illustrates a portion of aphotovoltaic power generation system according to an embodiment. In theillustrative embodiment depicted in FIG. 8b , a plurality of PV powerdevices 802 (e.g., 802 a, 802 b, . . . 802 n) may be coupled to aplurality of PV generators 800 (e.g., 800 a, 800 b, . . . 800 n) to forma photovoltaic string 820. According to some aspects, one terminal ofthe resultant photovoltaic string 820 may be coupled to a power (e.g.,direct current) bus, and the other terminal of the string 820 may becoupled to a ground bus. In some embodiments, the power and ground busesmay be input to system power device 850. In some embodiments, systempower device 850 may include a DC/AC inverter and may output alternatingcurrent (AC) power to a power grid, home or other destinations. In someembodiments, system power device 850 may comprise a combiner box,DC-link, transformer and/or safety disconnect circuit. For example,system power device 850 may comprise a DC combiner box for receiving DCpower from a plurality of PV strings similar to or the same as 820 andoutputting the combined DC power. In some embodiments, system powerdevice 850 may be coupled to a plurality of parallel-connected PVstrings, and may include a fuse coupled to each PV string forovercurrent protection, and/or one or more disconnect switches fordisconnecting one or more PV strings. In some embodiments, system powerdevice 850 may comprise a Rapid Shutdown circuit, configured to rapidlyreduce an input voltage to system power device 850 in response to apotentially unsafe condition (e.g., detecting an arc, or an islandingcondition). In some embodiments, system power device 850 may be similarto or the same as load 250 of FIG. 2 and/or load 750 of FIG. 7 a.

In some embodiments, photovoltaic (PV) power device 802 a may comprise apower converter 801 a using a variation of a Buck+Boost DC/DC converter.Power converter 801 a may include a circuit having two input terminals,denoted Vin and common, and two output terminals which output the samevoltage Vout. The output voltage is in relation to the common terminal.The circuit may include an input capacitor Cin coupled between thecommon terminal and the Vin terminal, an output capacitor coupledbetween the common terminal and the Vout terminals. The circuit mayinclude a first central point and a second central point used forreference. The circuit may include a plurality of switches (e.g., MOSFETtransistors) Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4 with Q1 connected between Vin and thefirst central point, and Q2 connected between the common terminal andthe first central point. Q3 may be connected between the Vout terminaland the second central point, and Q4 may be connected between the commonterminal and the second central point. The circuit may further includeinductor L coupled between the two central points.

The operation of the Buck+Boost DC/DC converter in PV power device 802 amay be variously configured. For example, if an output voltage lowerthan the input voltage is desired, Q3 may be statically ON, Q4 may bestatically OFF, and with Q1 and Q2 being PWM-switched in a complementarymanner to one another, the circuit is temporarily equivalent to a Buckconverter and the input voltage is bucked. If an output voltage higherthan the input voltage is desired, Q1 may be statically ON, Q2 may bestatically OFF, and with Q3 and Q4 being PWM-switched in a complementarymanner to one another, the input voltage is boosted. Staggering theswitching of switches Q1 and Q2, the circuit may convert the inputvoltage Vin to output voltage Vout. If current is input to the circuitby the Vin and common terminals, and the voltage drop across capacitorsCin and Cout are about constant voltages Vin and Vout respectively, thecurrents input to the circuit are combined at inductor L to form aninductor current which is equal to the sum of the current input at theVin and common terminals. The inductor current may be output by the pairof output terminals Vout. In some embodiments, more than two Voutterminals may be utilized to split the output current into more than twoportions. In some embodiments, a single output terminal may be included,and system designers may split the output terminal externally (i.e.,outside of the PV power device circuit), if desired.

In alternative embodiments, power converter 801 a may be modified orconfigured (e.g., by removing switches Q3 and Q4 and connecting the Voutterminals directly to the second central point) to be a regular Buckconverter, or may be modified or configured (e.g., by removing switchesQ1 and Q2 and connecting the Vin terminal directly to the first centralpoint) to be a regular Boost converter.

Arranging a PV string in a manner similar to PV string 820 may provideseveral benefits. For example, by routing string current through twocurrent paths, each current path carrying a portion of the total stringcurrent, cabling costs associated with arranging string 820 may bereduced (e.g., because conductors provided along with PV generators 800may be utilized to carry part of the total string current). As a secondexample, by directly coupling an output of a first PV power device(e.g., 802 a) to a common terminal of a second PV power device (e.g.,802 b) such that a PV generator (e.g., 800 b) is coupled between thefirst and second PV power devices, the first and second PV power devicesmay be configured to carry out point-to-point power line communications(PTPPLC) and/or may determine (e.g., by detecting magnitudes andwaveforms of a current flowing along the conduction path between thefirst and second PV power devices) that the first and second powerdevices may be adjacent to each other, potentially assisting withlocalization and mapping of PV power generation systems. Additionaladvantages disclosed herein include improved arc detection andlocalization capabilities using reduced-impedance voltage loops providedby the arrangement of PV string 820.

A first Vout terminal of PV power device 802 a may be coupled to anegative output of PV generator 800 b at connection point 1 (denotedCP1). A second Vout terminal of PV power device 802 a may be coupled tothe common terminal of PV power device 802 b at connection point 3(denoted CP3). A positive output of PV generator 800 b may be coupled tothe Vin terminal of PV power device 802 b at connection point 2 (denotedCP2).

At the ground bus end of PV string 820, PV generator 800 a may becoupled to the ground bus at connection point 4 (denoted CP4). At thepower bus end of PV string 820, PV power device 800 n may be coupled tothe ground bus at connection point 5 (denoted CP5). For notationalconvenience, connection points which are not connected to the ground orpower buses (e.g., connection points CP1, CP2 and CP3) will be referredto as “middle connection points”, or MCPs, and connection points whichare connected to the group or power buses (e.g., connection points CP4and CP5) will be referred to as “end connection points”, or ECPs.

While arcing can occur at nearly any location in a photovoltaic system,connection points may be particularly susceptible to arcing due to therisk of a faulty connection and/or ingress of dirt or humidity. Byarranging a PV string similarly to PV string 820, sensors disposed in PVpower devices 802 (e.g., sensor(s)/sensor interfaces 805 of FIG. 8a )may detect the arcing condition by monitoring a voltage across twoterminals of PV power device 802, the voltage being part of a reducedvoltage loop.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8c , which illustrates a portion of aphotovoltaic power generation system according to an illustrativeembodiment. PV string 820, PV generators 800, PV power devices 802 andsystem power device 850 may be the same as the corresponding elements ofFIG. 8b . First voltage loop 881 may comprise a voltage at the input ofsystem power device 850 (denoted V850), a plurality of voltages acrossconnection points at terminals of PV generators 800 (e.g., CP4, CP1,CP2), a plurality of voltages across PV generators 800, denoted V800,and a plurality of voltages across PV power devices 802 (i.e., a voltagebetween a Vout terminal and the Vin terminal of a PV power device 802).According to Kirchhoff's Voltage Law (KVL), first voltage loop 881 maybe described according to Eq. 10, which follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{V_{dc} + \underset{\underset{\alpha}{}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}V_{800,i}} + \underset{\underset{\beta}{}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{N}\left( {V_{{out},{802i}} - V_{{in},{802i}}} \right)} + \underset{\underset{\gamma}{}}{\sum\limits_{{CP} \in {MCP}}^{\;}V_{CP}} + V_{{CP}\; 4} + V_{{{CP}\; 5}\;}} = 0} & {{Eq}.\mspace{14mu} 10}\end{matrix}$

where α denotes the summed voltages of PV generators 800, β denotes thesummed Vin-to-Vout voltages of PV power devices 802, and γ denotes thesummed voltages across the MCPs, i.e., across connection points betweena PV generator 800 and a PV power device 802 (e.g., CP1, CP2). VoltageV850 may be monitored (e.g., measured), and the input and output voltageof PV power devices (i.e., V_(out,802) and V_(in,802i)) may be similarlymonitored. Under normal (i.e., non-arcing) operating conditions,connection-point voltages may be about zero and voltages V850,V_(out,802) and V_(in,802i) may change at low-frequency or not at all(i.e., DC voltages). Under arcing conditions, an arc may injecthigh-frequency voltage components into a component of first voltage loop881 (for example, if an arc is present at CP2, the voltage Vcp2 mayinclude high-frequency components). To maintain a total voltage of zeroacross first voltage loop 881 (i.e., as to not violate Eq. 10), theremaining voltages featured in Eq. 10 may (e.g., the voltages across oneor more of PV power devices 802 and/or system power device 850) maycomprise negative high-frequency components, i.e., high-frequencyvoltage components having the opposite polarity compared to thehigh-frequency voltage components across the arc). The negativehigh-frequency voltage components may be detectable by sensors coupledto PV power devices 802, PV generators 800 and/or system power device850. For example, a voltage sensor coupled to the inputs of system powerdevice 850 may measure V850, and may be configured to raise an alarm ortake corrective action in response to a V850 voltage measurementincluding high-frequency components (e.g., above 1 kHz) at an amplitudeof over 10 mV, which may indicate an arcing condition.

In some embodiments, voltage sensors coupled to PV power devices 802and/or system power device 850 may be dual-purpose. For example,communication device 806 of FIG. 8a may be a Power Line Communications(PLC) device configured to carry out Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) andmay comprise a voltage sensor configured to measure high-frequencyvoltage components. Voltage components measured at certain informationbands of high frequencies may be decoded for information, and voltagecomponents measured at noise bands of high frequencies may be determinedto be indicative of an arcing condition. For example, a first frequencyband between 55 kHz-65 kHz, a second frequency band between 75 kHz-80kHz and a third frequency band between 85 kHz-91 kHz may all bemonitored for information signals. A fourth frequency band between 100kHz-120 kHz may be monitored for voltage noise indicating an arcingcondition.

In some embodiments, certain frequency bands may be associated with ormay correspond to voltage noise that might not be indicative of anarcing condition. For example, an arc detection circuit (such asdisclosed herein) may be coupled to a DC/DC converter or a DC/ACconverter which may comprise one or more switches that may switch (i.e.,operate, etc.) at a high frequency. The switching of the switches at ahigh frequency may cause voltage noise at the switching frequency andmultiples thereof. For example, a converter switching one or moreswitches at 19 kHz may generate voltage noise at 19 kHz, 38 kHz, 57 kHz,etc. To reduce the risk of determining a false-positive arcingcondition, in some embodiments, a frequency band for monitoring for anarcing condition or that may indicate an arcing condition may beselected or identified. Doing this may avoid one or more frequenciesthat may contain voltage noise which might not be indicative of anarcing condition (e.g., a switching frequency, etc.).

In some embodiments, a select frequency or group of select frequenciesmay be used for monitoring voltage noise indicating an arcing condition.The select frequency or selected frequencies may correspond to afrequency at which an impedance of a voltage loop may be reduced. Forexample, the total impedance of voltage loop 881 may be lowest (due toresonating capacitive and inductive elements comprising voltage loop881) at 10 kHz. In this case, a voltage component corresponding to 10kHz may be measured for an arc indication, or a voltage componentcorresponding to between 5 kHz and 20 kHz (i.e., twice and half of thelow-impedance frequency) may be measured for an arc indication. In someembodiments, a loop impedance may be adjusted (e.g., by connectingadjustable capacitive and/or inductive elements) to resonate at aselected frequency, thereby improving detection of a voltage componentcorresponding to the selected frequency.

In some embodiments, additional voltage (or other parameter) sensingcircuits may be added and configured for measuring high-frequencyvoltage components. For example, voltage-sensing circuits (e.g.,voltage-sensing inductor circuits) may be serially coupled to input oroutput terminals of PV power devices, system power devices and/orphotovoltaic generators, and may be configured to measure high-frequencyvoltage components at the input or output terminals.

Still referring to FIG. 8c , a second voltage loop 880 may comprise avoltage across a PV generator (e.g., 800 b), voltages across two MCPs(e.g., CP1 and CP2), a voltage across a connection point between two PVpower devices (e.g., 802 a and 802 b), and a voltage between twoterminals of a PV power device (e.g., the Vin-to-common voltage of PVpower device 802 b). A plurality of voltage loops similar to voltageloop 880 may exist in a PV string 820; a similar voltage loop may bedefined with regard to each PV generator in PV string 820. A Kirchhoffscurrent law (KCL) equation may represent voltage loop 880 according toEq. 11, which follows:

V ₈₀₀+(V _(common,802) −V _(in,802))+V _(CP1) +V _(CP2) −V _(CP3)=0

Under normal operating conditions (i.e., no arc), voltages Vcp1, Vcp2and Vcp3 may be about zero, and Eq. 11 may reduce to Eq. 12, whichfollows:

V ₈₀₀+(V _(common,802) −V _(in,802))=0

V ₈₀₀ =V _(in,802) −V _(common,802)

The voltage V_(in,802)−V_(common,802) may be continuously monitored by avoltage sensor, which may be disposed at, near, or within a PV powerdevice 802 a. In case of an arc at one of the connection points withinvoltage loop 880, high frequency voltage components may be measured atthe input of a PV power device 802 (e.g., 802 b), and in response, analarm may be raised. In some embodiments, a voltage may be monitoredacross a communication device disposed at an input or output terminal ofa PV power device 802. Under normal operating conditions, a sensor maydetect and/or decode voltage components at one or more frequencies thatmay correspond to information signal frequencies. According to someaspects, a sensor may detect and/or decode voltage components at one ormore frequencies that might not corresponding to information signalfrequencies, which may be indicative of an arcing condition.

An advantage which may be realized in accordance with embodimentsdisclosed herein may be a reduced loop impedance of second voltage loop880. According to some aspects, voltage sensors may be disposed at,near, or between one or more terminals of PV power devices 802 and maybe configured to detect high-frequency voltage components which may besubstantially larger (i.e., have a higher magnitude) than high-frequencyvoltage components measured within a larger loop comprising a higherloop impedance. The increased magnitude of high-frequency voltagecomponents may facilitate early detection of arcing condition, and mayenable a faster response and increased safety.

An additional advantage may include fast localization of the arc. Forexample, if an arc occurs at CP1, high-frequency voltage components maybe detected at a first, high magnitude at PV power device 802 b (whichmay be part of voltage loop 880), and at a second, reduced magnitude byadditional PV power devices (e.g., PV power devices 802 a, 802 n, whichmay be part of voltage loop 881). Comparing magnitudes of measuredhigh-frequency voltage components may indicate that PV power device mayhave measured larger high-frequency voltage components, which mayindicate that an arc may have occurred at or in close proximity to PVpower device 802 b.

Yet another advantage of the arrangement of string 820 may be provisionof a reduced-impedance loop for one or more or all connection points. Insome conventional power systems, a substantial number of connectionpoints associated with PV power devices might not be part ofreduced-impedance voltage loops, potentially increasing detection timeof arcing conditions. In an arrangement according to string 820, aportion of or all connection points (e.g., with the exception ofconnection point CP5) may be part of at least one reduced-impedancevoltage loop, which may reduce the time to detect an arc at any givenconnection point, and may provide a method for determining a location ofan arcing condition.

According to some aspects, if an arc occurs at a location other than aconnection point (e.g., at the power bus, the ground bus or atconductors disposed in PV string 820, etc.), the arc may injecthigh-frequency voltage components which may affect voltage measurementstaken at locations within first voltage loop 881 and/or within secondvoltage loop 880. Depending on the location of the arc, an increasedmagnitude of high-frequency voltage components may be measured. Forexample, if an arc occurs at a conductor disposed between CP1 and PVgenerator 800 b, an increased high-frequency voltage magnitude may bemeasured by PV power device 802 b. As another example, if an arc occursat CP4, an increased high-frequency voltage magnitude may be measured byPV power device 802 a. High frequency voltage magnitudes may includevoltage magnitudes at a frequency substantially above a grid frequency,for example, 200 Hz, 1 kHz, 5 kHz, 20 kHz, 100 kHz or higher. As yetanother example, if an arc occurs at the ground bus, at the power bus,or at CP4, an increased high-frequency voltage magnitude might not bemeasured by any PV power device.

Reference is now made to FIG. 8d , which illustrates a process 840 fordetecting an arc according to some aspects. Process 840 may be carriedout by one or more devices (e.g., controller 704, etc.) coupled to a PVpower device (e.g., controller 804 of FIG. 8a , coupled to PV powerdevice 802) and/or a controller coupled to a system power device (e.g.,system power device 850 of FIG. 8c ).

At step 841, a voltage may be measured at an input to the power devicecomprising the controller. For example, a voltage may be measuredbetween input terminals or in series with an input or an output terminalof a PV power device.

At step 842, the controller may determine whether the voltagemeasurement obtained at step 841 comprises high-frequency componentswhich may above a threshold. The threshold may correspond to a voltagelevel which is above a voltage level which likely corresponds to“normal” or typical (e.g. non-arcing) system operation. The thresholdmay be, as illustrative numerical examples, 10 mV or 100 mV, or someother value. As another example, the threshold may be a voltage measuredat another frequency band, or at another point in coupled circuity. Forexample, a group of voltage measurements may be measured at a pluralityof high frequencies, with the threshold being set as the difference involtage between the greatest two of the voltage measurements. As anotherexample, the threshold may be a ratio of voltage differences. Forexample, if a voltage level at a first high frequency is twice themagnitude of a voltage level at a second high frequency (correspondingto a threshold ratio of two), or one hundred thousand times themagnitude of a voltage level at a second high frequency (correspondingto a threshold ratio of one hundred thousand), the voltage differencemay be considered to be greater than the threshold. As yet anotherexample, a threshold may be set with respect to a low frequency voltage.For example, a DC voltage may be measured, and a threshold forhigh-frequency voltage components may be set at, for example, 2% of thevalue of the DC voltage.

If no such voltage components above a threshold are detected, thecontroller may return to step 841, and after a period of time haselapsed (e.g., seconds or minutes), restart process 840 or may return toa previous step.

If, at step 842, high-frequency voltage components above the thresholdare detected, the process 840 may proceed to step 843 and determinewhether the voltage components are located at frequency bands which maybe used for communication. In embodiments where information might not bemodulated as high-frequency voltage signals, the process 840 may proceedfrom step 842 directly to step 845.

If, at step 843, the controller determines that the high-frequencyvoltage components correspond to modulated information (e.g. apower-line-communication message comprising parameter measurements,instructions, or other information), the controller may proceed to step844. At step 844, the controller may decode the voltage measurement todetermine any information contained in the voltage measurement. Theprocess 840 may then return to step 841.

If, at step 843, the controller determines that the high-frequencyvoltage components might not correspond to modulated information (e.g.the controller determines that the high-frequency voltage components maycorrespond to noise)), the process 840 may proceed to step 845, and thecontroller may set an alarm condition. Step 845 may be similar to or thesame as step 408 of FIG. 4, step 528 of FIG. 5d , step 609 of FIG. 6a ,and/or step 717 of FIG. 7 b.

In an illustrative embodiment, step 845 may include determining alocation of an arc and transmitting localization information to wiredand/or wireless network(s)/Internet/Intranet, and/or any number of enduser device(s) such as a computer, smart phone, tablet and/or otherdevices such as servers which may be located at a network operationscenter and/or power generation monitoring center. Determining a locationof an arc may comprise comparing voltage measurements measured by aplurality of PV power devices in a string and determining that an arc islikely present in the proximity of a PV power device which measured ahigh-frequency voltage component which is larger than the componentsmeasured by other PV power devices.

In some embodiments, process 840 may be carried out by a controllerdevice coupled to a local PV power device (e.g. modules 702 of FIG. 7a )and may include determining a location of an arc may comprise comparingmeasured high-frequency voltage components to a threshold. Thecontroller may be configured to determine that the arc is adjacent tothe local PV power device if the measured high-frequency voltagecomponents are above the threshold. In some embodiments, several PVpower device controllers may carry out process 840 simultaneously orsequentially, where the aggregated results of each process 840 executionmay be considered by a master controller configured to set an alarmcondition if more than one of the PV power device controllers determinesthan an arcing condition may be present.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which shows a photovoltaic (PV) systemaccording to illustrative embodiments. PV system 901 may comprise aplurality of PV strings 920, each PV string 920 coupled to a stringdevice 910, with a plurality of string devices 910 coupled in series orin parallel between a ground bus and a power bus. Each of PV strings 920may comprise a plurality of serially-connected PV generators 900. PVgenerators 900 may be similar to or the same as PV panels 200 of FIG. 2,PV panels 700 of FIG. 7A and/or PV generators 800 of FIG. 8B. PVgenerators 900 may comprise one or more photovoltaic cells(s),module(s), substring(s), panel(s) or shingle(s). In some embodiments, PVgenerators 900 may be replaced by direct current (DC) batteries oralternative direct current or alternating current (AC) power sources.

A safety device 902 may be coupled at various locations in PV strings920. For example, in some embodiments (e.g. the embodiment shown in FIG.9), a safety device 902 may be disposed between each pair of PVgenerators 900. In some embodiments a safety device 902 may be disposedbetween groups of more than one serially-connected PV generators 900.

In some embodiments, safety devices 902 may comprise sensors/sensorinterfaces for measuring electrical or thermal parameters (e.g. current,voltage, power, temperature, irradiance etc.). In some embodiments,safety devices 902 may comprise switches for disconnecting PV generators900 in case of a potential safety condition and control/driver circuitsfor controlling the switches. In some embodiments, safety devices 902may comprise arc-detection circuits configured to monitor electricalparameters (e.g. current, voltage, power) and analyze the electricalparameters to determine if an arcing condition is present. In someembodiments, safety devices 902 may comprise a wired or wirelesscommunication device for transmitting and/or receiving measurementsand/or messages.

String devices 910 may be similar to module 202 of FIG. 2, power module702 of FIG. 7A and/or power module 802 of FIG. 8a , String devices 910may comprise one or more of communication device 806, memory device 809,power converter 801, auxiliary power unit 808, sensor/sensorinterface(s) 805, controller 804, MPPT circuit 803 and safety devices807.

In some embodiments, a plurality of string devices 910 may be coupled inparallel between the ground bus and the power bus, as shown in FIG. 9.In some embodiments, a plurality of string devices 910 may be coupled inseries between the ground bus and the power bus. In some embodiments, aplurality of string devices 910 may be coupled in a series-parallelarrangement between the ground bus and the power bus. In someembodiments, a plurality of string devices 910 may be housed by a singleenclosure having multiple inputs for multiple PV strings.

Safety regulations may define a maximum allowable voltage between theground bus and any other voltage point in PV system 901, during bothregular operating conditions and during potentially unsafe conditions(e.g. a fire, grid outage, an islanding condition, arcing and the like).Similarly, safety regulations may define a maximum allowable voltagebetween any two voltage points in PV system 901. In some scenarios, anunsafe condition in PV system 901 may require disconnecting orshort-circuiting one or more of the PV generators 900 in a PV string 920or one or more of string devices 910.

In some embodiments, a string device 910 may respond to a potentiallyunsafe system condition by limiting the voltage across a PV string 920or between the power bus and the ground bus. For example, string device910 may comprise a converter configured to regulate a voltage of about60V across each PV string 920 in case of a potentially unsafe condition.

In some embodiments, the power and ground buses may connect to and/or beinput to system power device 950. In some embodiments, system powerdevice 950 may include a DC/AC inverter and may output alternatingcurrent (AC) power to a load, power grid, home, or other devices ordestinations. In some embodiments, system power device 950 may comprisea combiner box, a transformer, and/or a safety disconnect circuit. Forexample, system power device 950 may comprise a DC combiner box forreceiving DC power from a plurality of PV strings 920 and outputting thecombined DC power. In some embodiments, system power device 950 mayinclude a fuse coupled to string device 910 for overcurrent protection,and/or may include one or more disconnect switches for disconnecting oneor more string devices 910.

In some embodiments, system power device 950 may include or be coupledto a control device and/or a communication device for controlling orcommunicating with one or more safety devices 902 and/or one or morestring devices 910. For example, system power device 950 may comprise acontrol device such as a microprocessor, Digital Signal Processor (DSP)and/or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) configured to control theoperation of a string device 910. In some embodiments, system powerdevice 950 may comprise multiple interacting control devices. Systempower device 950 may comprise a communication device (e.g. a Power LineCommunication circuit, a wireless transceiver, etc.) configured tocommunicate with linked communication devices included in or coupled tosafety devices 902 and/or string devices 910. In some embodiments,system power device 950 may comprise both a control device and acommunication device, where the control device may be configured todetermine desirable modes of operation for safety devices 902 and/orstring devices 910, and the communication device may be configured totransmit operational commands and/or receive reports from communicationdevices included in or coupled to the safety devices 902 and/or stringdevices 910.

System power device 950 may be may be coupled to and/or connected to anynumber of other devices and/or systems, such as PV systems 100 and/or701. For example, system power device 950 may be coupled to one or morediscrete and/or interconnected devices such as disconnect(s), PVcell(s)/array(s)/panels, inverter(s), micro inverter(s), PV powerdevice(s), safety device(s), meter(s), breaker(s), AC main(s), junctionbox(es), camera(s), etc. In some embodiments, system power device 950may be coupled to and/or connected to network(s)/Intranet/Internet,computing devices, smart phone devices, tablet devices, camera, one ormore servers which may include data bases and/or work stations. Systempower device 950 may be configured for controlling the operation ofcomponents within PV system 901 and/or for controlling the interactionswith other elements coupled to PV system 901.

In some embodiments, system power device 950 may respond to apotentially unsafe system condition by limiting (e.g., decreasing to alower voltage, decreasing to zero voltage, etc.) the voltage between thepower bus and the ground bus.

In some embodiments, the power and ground buses may be further coupledto energy storage devices such as batteries, flywheels, capacitors,inductors, or other devices.

In some embodiments, safety devices 902 and/or string devices 910 may beconfigured to detect a proximate arcing condition and to take correctiveaction and/or generate a signal indicative of an arcing condition to adifferent device. For example, a safety device 902 may detect a possiblearcing condition (e.g. using a process similar to process 840 of FIG. 8d) at a terminal of a PV generator 900, and may disconnect the PVgenerator 900 to prevent or reduce danger. In some embodiments, thesafety device 902 may indicate and/or report the possible arcingcondition to a string device 910 and/or a system power device 950 via awired or wireless communication signal. The string device 910 and/or asystem power device 950 may be configured to reduce voltage at one ormore PV generators 900 or PV strings 920 or may be configured todisconnect one or more PV strings 920 to prevent or reduce danger. Insome embodiments, the safety device 902 may generate (e.g., by rapidswitching of a switch, etc.) a voltage and/or current noise signalindicative of an arcing condition and detectable by a string device 910.

In another example, a string device 910 may detect (e.g., using aprocess similar to process 840 of FIG. 8d ) an arcing condition at aninput terminal of the string device 910 or at an intermediate point in aPV string 920 (e.g., between two PV generators 900). The string device910 may take corrective action by disconnecting and/or reducing voltageacross the PV string 920, and/or may transmit a signal to system powerdevice 950 indicating the arcing condition. For example, the stringdevice 910 may send to system power device 950 a wired or a wirelesscommunication signal indicating the arcing condition. As anotherexample, the string device 910 may generate a noisy voltage and/orcurrent signal between the power bus and the ground bus. The noisyvoltage or current signal may be detectable by system power device 950and may be indicative of an arcing condition. System power device 950may be configured to respond to a signal indicative of an arcingcondition, for example, by disconnecting one or more string devices 910or PV strings 920, or by sending a command to reduce voltage across orcurrent through a string device 910 or a PV string 920.

The definite articles “a”, “an” is used herein, such as “an arc voltageand/or arc current”, “a load” have the meaning of “one or more” that is“one or more arc voltages and/or arc currents” or “one or more loads”.

While the embodiments of aspects of the invention has been describedwith respect to a limited number of examples, it will be appreciatedthat many variations, modifications and other applications of theinvention may be made. For example, elements of measurementsynchronization disclosed with regard to process 601 may be similarlyapplied to other processes and aspects disclosed herein. For example,steps 552-554 of process 500 depicted in FIG. 5c may make similar use ofmeasurement and/or transmission synchronization as described with regardto FIG. 6a . As another example, process 840 may be carried out by asingle controller (e.g., controller 804 of FIG. 8a ) or by severalcontrollers acting in conjunction. As yet another example, aspectsdisclosed herein may be combined with other disclosed aspects. Forexample, step 610 described with regard to method 601 may be added tomethod 711, such that if step 714 of method 711 determines that allvoltage measurements were not measured at about the same time, thecontroller executing method 711 proceeds to a step similar to step 610.

PV generators and PV panels have been used to exemplify illustrativepower sources in power generation systems disclosed herein. Apparatusesand methods disclosed herein may be implemented in power generationsystems comprising batteries, capacitors, supercapacitors, fuel cells,wind turbines, hydro-generators, or other power sources in addition toor instead of PV generators and/or PV panels.

1. A method comprising: obtaining a voltage measurement by measuring avoltage at a terminal of a photovoltaic power device; determining one ormore voltage magnitudes associated with one or more respective frequencycomponents of the voltage measurement; and upon determining that the oneor more voltage magnitudes associated with one or more respectivefrequency components do not correspond to modulated information and thatat least one of the one or more voltage magnitudes is above a threshold,setting an alarm condition.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein themeasuring the voltage measurement at the terminal of the photovoltaicpower device comprises measuring the voltage across two input terminalsof the photovoltaic power device.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein themeasuring the voltage measurement at the terminal of the photovoltaicpower device comprises measuring the voltage across a circuit coupled inseries with an input terminal of a photovoltaic power device.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the measuring the voltage measurement at theterminal of the photovoltaic power device comprises measuring thevoltage across a circuit coupled in series with an output terminal of aphotovoltaic power device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein thephotovoltaic power device comprises at least one of a direct current todirect current (DC/DC) converter or a DC combiner box.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the photovoltaic power device is integrated with aphotovoltaic power generator.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thesetting the alarm condition comprises at least one of disconnecting thephotovoltaic power device from a photovoltaic string or disconnectingthe photovoltaic power device from a load.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the setting the alarm condition comprises transmitting a messageindicating a suspected arcing condition.
 9. The method of claim 8,wherein the transmitting a message comprising indicating a location ofthe suspected arcing condition.
 10. A method comprising: measuring, by aphotovoltaic power device, a first frequency voltage component of afirst voltage loop, producing a first voltage measurement, measuring asecond frequency voltage component of a second voltage loop, producing asecond voltage measurement, comparing the first voltage measurement tothe second voltage measurement; and upon determining that the firstvoltage measurement has a substantially larger magnitude than amagnitude of the second voltage measurement, setting an alarm condition.11. The method of claim 10, wherein setting an alarm condition comprisesidentifying a location associated with the first voltage measurement.12. The method of claim 10, wherein the setting the alarm conditioncomprises at least one of disconnecting the photovoltaic power devicefrom a photovoltaic string or disconnecting the photovoltaic powerdevice from a load.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein the firstvoltage loop comprises a photovoltaic power device, and wherein thesecond voltage loop comprises a plurality of photovoltaic power devices.14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first voltage loop comprisesoutput terminals of a photovoltaic generator and an input terminal of aphotovoltaic power device.
 15. The method of claim 10, wherein thesecond voltage loop comprises a system power device.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the system power device comprises a power converter.17. The method of claim 15, wherein the setting the alarm conditioncomprises disconnecting the system power device from a photovoltaicstring.
 18. The method of claim 10, wherein the measuring the firstfrequency voltage component comprises determining a frequencycorresponding to a reduced impedance at the first voltage loop.
 19. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the measuring the second frequency voltagecomponent comprises determining a frequency corresponding to a reducedimpedance at the second voltage loop.
 20. The method of claim 19,wherein the determined frequency is between about 5 kHz and about 20kHz.
 21. A method comprising: measuring, by a first device, a firstvoltage at a first voltage location to obtain a first voltagemeasurement; comparing the first voltage measurement to a firstthreshold voltage; upon the first voltage measurement being above thefirst threshold voltage, generating, by the first device, a secondvoltage at a second voltage location; measuring, by a second device, thesecond voltage, obtaining a second voltage measurement; comparing thesecond voltage measurement to a second threshold voltage; and upon thesecond voltage measurement being above the second threshold voltage,raising an alarm condition.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein thefirst device comprises a string device.
 23. The method of claim 21,wherein the second device comprises a system power device.
 24. Themethod of claim 21, wherein the first device comprises a photovoltaicpower device.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the raising the alarmcondition comprises at least one of disconnecting the photovoltaic powerdevice from a photovoltaic string or disconnecting the photovoltaicpower device from a load.
 26. A method for arc detection in a systemincluding one or more photovoltaic power modules and a load coupled tothe one or more photovoltaic power modules, the method for arc detectioncomprising: measuring voltage delivered to the load thereby producing afirst measurement; measuring voltage produced by the one or morephotovoltaic power modules thereby producing a second measurement;comparing the first measurement with the second measurement therebyproducing a differential voltage measurement result; and upon thedifferential voltage measurement result being more than a thresholdvalue, setting an alarm condition.